One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks
by ahsoei
Summary: Originally was titled, 'Dragons and Heroes: The Fist Marks'. The prequel/side story of the Legacy. Featuring Saitama during his journey before and/or in between the Legacy. This story is made simply for the hell of it. Rating might change in the future. May contain OC, possible OOC-ness. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
1. Chapter 1

**Dragons and Heroes: The Fist Marks**

 **Alright, folks! Here's the side project that I've been working on. Basically another side of the Legacy story that I write for the fun of it, just as the summary said. Enjoy! R &R.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own High-school DxD nor One-Punch Man.**

 **Special thanks for KoroshiyaBlaze for being this story's beta-reader!**

 **Chapter 1: The Hero and The Magical Girl**

The Underworld...

A place in religion and mythology where the souls of the departed shall go to. It is also to be believed as the place where malevolent beings and creatures reside in. Some people also believed that it was the home of fallen angels who had been banished from Heaven as well. The Underworld is roughly the same size as the human world but with a much larger landmass, as there are no oceans. The sky is originally purple during both the day and night, however the current Four Great Satans adjusted the flow of time to match it in the human world for the sake of the reincarnated devils. They reproduced a false moon using magic and made the night's darkness the same with the human world's. In addition, the underworld itself was split into two territories: the devil's territory and fallen angel's territory.

In the capital city of Lilith, there was a parliament building where the devil kings and other government officials worked on managing the underworld. The building sometimes was used as an alternative housing, complete with bathrooms and bedrooms for those who had to work overtime. Currently in one of the guest rooms, there were two people sat in front of large, flat‐screen television. On the television screen was a show depicting a girl with pink frilly dress swinging something akin to a magical wand around, before switching the scene that was showing what was called, 'Miracle L evia‐tan'.

After the show had ended, one of the occupants of the room, Sirzechs Lucifer, turned from his seat towards his companion, a bald man wearing a set of charcoal grey suit with yellow tie.

"So, Saitama‐kun. What do you think?"

Taking another bite from the snack that had been served to him beforehand, Saitama only raised his eyebrows nonchalantly. "When you said something like 'last, but not least', I didn't expect something like this." Saitama pointed his thumb at the television screen with somewhat disappointed tone. "Honestly, I prefer when you took me to that floating island and that place with lots of organic products earlier."

Sirzechs hummed thoughtfully before replying. "Sorry if you don't like it, Saitama‐kun... I actually kind of ran out of place to show you, and I decided to show you underworld's most favourite TV show. I thought you might like it."

"Well, I appreciate the thought..." Saitama felt a little bad at Sirzechs' apology. "Not that I don't like it, but... It's just not my thing." Saitama explained. _"_ _Though, I know someone who'd love this show_... _"_ Saitama's thought trailed to a certain man with scars on his face. "And do I really have to put this on?" Saitama tugged his collar a bit, the man always felt a bit suffocated with the tie and all.

"I'm sorry about that, but I can't set up a bad example in this place. You can at least loosen up the tie, though." Sirzechs excused, which Saitama complied as the latter loosen the knot on his yellow tie.

The reason Saitama was in the underworld in the first place was for sightseeing. Not long after Saitama's 'little spar' with Sirzechs at Gobi desert, which involved some old monkey suddenly appearing on top of a green dragon and complaining about the former two destroying a good part of the monkey's homeland, Sirzechs became rather fond of Saitama and later invited him to explore the underworld, particularly the devil's territory with the devil king himself as a guide. Sirzechs himself also planned to introduce his fellow Satans to his new mortal friend.

Saitama later found himself transferred instantly together with Sirzechs, which the latter saying it would be a one‐time special service only. They visited many places in the underworld, which was completely different from Saitama's expectations. The man expected wandering souls in the air, fiery volcanoes, sea of flames, brimstone or perhaps some cries and wails of despair of agony when he reached what was called as 'Hell', yet Saitama found something completely similar with the human world he came from, minus the purple sky and the lack of ocean.

Travelling from place to place, Saitama would be lying if he was not fascinated by the underworld. While Saitama is no expert in science stuff, Saitama admitted that the sight of the city of Agreas, complete with its advanced technology than the human world, had been breathtaking. Saitama could tell that people like Genos, Metal Knight and the brainiac of a kid from Hero Assocation would love to explore the city if they were given the opportunity. The man also enjoyed at the agricultural display at Auros, Saitama even making a mental note to himself to get some of their products to be delivered to his house as a souvenir to his new family.

And here he was now, watching the underworld's popular TV show that featured, as Sirzechs had informed, one of the devil kings who was in charge of the foreign affairs. Saitama was brought to the parliament building as it was time for Sirzechs to have his usual get‐together and lunch with the other devil kings, and it was a perfect opportunity to introduce Saitama to the other Satan as well. The two proceeded to move out from their current room to the dining hall where Sirzechs would meet the other devil kings.

"Ah, Sirzechs. I need to use the bathroom. Where is it again?" Saitama said soon after the two left the room.

"Go straight to that corner and turn right. The bathroom is the first door on your left. Sorry, but I need to be there first. Just go straight to the other end of this hallway if you want to catch up, okay?" Sirzechs pointed at the direction.

Saitama only nodded before turned on his heels. "It's fine. I'll see you later."

After trekking his way and passing several staff members, which fortunately had been informed about the human being the Lucifer's personal guest so they did not give another glance at the man, Saitama finally arrived at his intended destination. Looking back at the building itself when Saitama came in with Sirzechs, the former imagined that the bathroom alone might be as big as his house in the human world. Shrugging off the thoughts, Saitama immediately grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, which was actually locked and Saitama accidentally pulled the entire door off its hinges.

"Ah, crap. I broke it..."

Why the bathroom door was locked in the first place? Obviously, the bathroom was being used. The bathroom itself was not exactly a toilet, but it was a bathroom complete with a toilet and a shower to accommodate the members that had to stay overnight due to workload. Thus, when Saitama (forcefully) opened the door, his eyes landed upon the figure who was using the bathroom at that very moment.

Meanwhile, when Sirzechs was about to reach the dining hall where his colleagues/friends were supposed to be waiting for him, he suddenly heard a familiar shriek, along with a sound of a roaring explosion.

* * *

Serafall Leviathan is a devil king (queen?) who had a great self‐esteem. Born from the prestigious Sitri clan by the name Serafall Sitri, she flawlessly mastered her family's devil arts and soon inherited the position as the family head. Her mastery over ice and water made her became famous during the course of the Great War between Three Factions. Additionally, during the devil's civil war, Serafall joined the side of Anti‐Satan Faction and her power ability gave a great contribution to overturn the Old Satan Faction. Soon, she attained the throne of devil kings, receiving the title of the Prince of Envy itself and had been serving the underworld as one of the new Satans with the her comrades who inherited the other three of the original devil king's title.

However, over the course of her life, she became helplessly fascinated with the concept of Magical Girl, along with their mottos about love, peace, friendship etc. She decided that she would become a Magical Girl herself and make her own franchise, in order to teach the children about the wonders of Magical Girls, much to most of people's chagrin and disagreement (in the end, nobody truly dared to openly stand up against the strongest female in underworld).

Her career as a Magical Girl, in addition of her cute and cheerful personality, resulted her to have her own franchise to be the underworld's number 1 favourite among the populace. She also had made a good start once she planned to introduce her franchise further to the human world. She had gone through photo‐shoots, wearing skimpy, revealing outfit like mini‐skirts, stockings, swimsuits and even lingerie for the whole world to see, and she wasn't bothered in the slightest. In fact, it only made her proud of her own body.

However, the thought of someone seeing her entire _nude_ body never once crossed her mind. She was proud of her own body, but she never imagined anyone to see herself in her birthday suit (with an exception of her little sister. In fact, Serafall sometimes wished that she and her sister could cuddle each other naked someday). She did not put much thought about it as she believed that she would only laugh it off playfully if anyone comes across to see her nude form.

However on that day, she had been proven how wrong she was.

It was another day when Serafall just finished the shooting of her latest episode of 'Miracle L evia‐tan', and she proceeded to take a quick shower before meeting her fellow Satan in the parliament building. Suddenly, when she was busy drying her hair, the door of the bathroom suddenly busted as someone pulled the door off of its hinges, allowing whoever it was to see her child‐like, yet glorious body. The person who broke the door was a bald man with somewhat irritating plain face wearing a charcoal grey suit.

The man, Saitama only blinked several times at the sight of naked Serafall, whom only frozen in spot in return. "Oh, um... Sorry, I don't know that the bathroom is in use..." Saitama rubbed his head awkwardly. "And I'm also sorry about the door. I'll fix it somehow." The bald hero narrowed his eyes slightly when he got a better look at Serafall, whose face was getting redder and fuming by seconds.

"Hey, aren't you the girl from TV?" Thus, not expecting the current situation at hand, Serafall Leviathan did what most women would have done at the moment.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Saitama was taken aback at how loud the girl's scream was. Now that he remembered where they were, he quickly attempted to placate the panic woman before him. "Oh, right! The door! I'm sorry!" Saitama quickly stepped back and tried to put the door back to its position.

"Get the hell out, you perveeeert!" Serafall suddenly threw her own demonic energy in a fit of rage and embarrassment. Never had she imagined how embarrassing it felt to be seen naked by a random person, a man to add. Her demonic power flew towards Saitama, who quickly used the door as a shield in reflex, before the door was immediately frozen and was destroyed, becoming shards of ice.

PRANG!

"Don't look! Stop looking at me, you leech!" Serafall kept firing her demonic power as she tried to cover her modesty. One of her shots made a hit on Saitama and her power immediately froze, encasing a good part of Saitama's body in a large ice‐block.

At this point, people around had already made few distances themselves, seeking for safety from their rampaging Satan as they pitied the poor man that tasted the power of the Leviathan first‐handed. However, much to the spectator's surprise, the man simply broke the ice encasing his limbs through sheer brute strength. Every time the Leviathan's attack managed to froze a part of his body, the man would simply and literally broke the ice off his body while he tried to placate the enraged and embarrassed woman. The process had already happened for several times now.

"I said I'm sorry, but you already destroyed the door! Hey! Stop it! It's freezing, y'know! What's your deal about being seen nude, anyway? It's not like it turns me on or anything!" Saitama yelled back as he kept taking the brunt of Serafall's attack like it was just a nuisance. At his words, however, Serafall just felt her pride being insulted in even more ways than one.

Thankfully, just when Saitama finally got away from Serafall's line of sight, allowing the latter to compose herself and put on her set of clothes, Sirzechs and other noble‐looking individual had come running to the scene.

"What in blazes...?" Sirzechs muttered at the sight of the ruined and frozen state of the hallway, before he turned to Saitama who walked towards them. "Saitama‐kun, what happened?"

Saitama looked around awkwardly, looking for correct words to explain the whole situation. "Well... I... accidentally broke the door and I ran to the girl we saw on the TV earlier." The man pointed his thumb at the direction of the bathroom.

Sirzechs furrowed his eyes slightly before he finally saw a girl with twin‐tailed hair come out from the bathroom with a set of dark‐green shirt and long skirt. "Serafall?"

"Sirzech‐chan~!" The teary‐eyed and flustered Serafall whined at her fellow Satan as she ran towards him. "There's a pervert peeping on me! What do I do? I can't be a bride anymore!" Then her eyes landed on Saitama. "Ah, that's him!"

The woman pointed accusingly at Saitama, who was still lost of what exactly was going on.

 _(Scene Break)_

As the Four Great Satans and single human were seated in the dining room, the situation could only be described as awkward and hostile, especially between Saitama and Serafall. Ever since the introduction between Saitama with Serafall Leviathan, Ajuka Beelzebub and Falbium Asmodeus, the female in the room had been glaring daggers at Saitama. If looks could kill and Saitama was more vulnerable, the man would've died hundred times over already. Falbium, renowned for his lazy attitude, could not help but curious as he raised his eyebrows at Sirzechs, who gave a bitter smile in return with a shake of his head.

Saitama finally could not stand the awkward atmosphere any longer and decided to do something to 'atone' his mistakes. "Um... I'm so sorry about earlier."

Serafall only huffed and averted her gaze away from Saitama and she grumpily focused on her meal. This left the other occupants to sweat‐drop at Serafall's uncharacteristic behaviour.

"Hahaha... Please cut him some slack, Serafall... Accidents do happen. I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad back there. Right, Saitama‐kun?" Sirzechs attempted to lighten up the mood as Saitama nodded in agreement.

"But Sirzechs‐chan~!" Serafall cried out, tears forming in her eyes. "I swear that his eyes were raping me back there!" Saitama narrowed his eyes incredulously at the statement. "And I've been preserving my body for So‐tan alone!"

Saitama furrowed his eyebrows at the strange name that caught in his ears.

"... _So-tan?"_

"You're going too far now, Serafall." Ajuka decided to join in placating the Leviathan. "Our guest here has apologized for whatever he's done to you, not to mention that it wasn't intentional. Shouldn't you show some mercy as a leader to overlook his mistake just this once?"

Serafall turned her glare at Ajuka, when their eyes met for few seconds, before glancing towards Sirzechs again, who also returned the look with hopeful and demanding stares of his own. The Leviathan also noticed that Falbium also gave her an expression that said, 'get over it already'. Finally, she turned back to Saitama, who still stared at her with his usual plain expression.

Few moments later, Serafall finally sighed in defeat. "...Fine, I'll let you go just this once... But don't think you'll get away so easily if it happens again, you hear me?!" Serafall pointed her finger at the man, who nodded furiously.

Suddenly, as if the incident at the hallway never happened, Serafall's expression started to brighten up in a blink of an eye. "So, why don't you tell us how you met with Sirzech‐chan here, Saitama‐chan~?"

Saitama blinked in confusion at the sudden mood swings from the Leviathan, as well as at the suffix used at his name. _"_ ... _' -chan'?"_ The man threw a questioning look at Sirzechs and the others respectively, which was only replied with sheepish smiles, sighs and the looks that said, 'just get along with her.'

Saitama scratched his cheek as he thought where to start. "...Well, I happened to meet him somewhere in China. He was taking a break from his work if I'm not mistaken."

The others sent playful looks as they were aware what 'Sirzechs taking a break' actually was. The Crimson Satan himself only averted his gaze away while giving an awkward smile.

Of course, Saitama and Sirzechs had agreed beforehand not to mention anything about their fight back then in order not to cause an uproar. Saitama himself also understood that Sirzechs had an image that had to be maintained.

As the conversation went on, Ajuka asked, "Then, what were you doing for living before you meet Sirzechs, Saitama?"

Saitama remained silent for a moment. With everything that had occurred to him ever since he had arrived to this dimension, could he still call himself what he used to be? But after one thing lead to another, Saitama had found himself doing the things he usually did. Old habits were truly hard to stop.

"...A hero for fun."

"...What?" That was the only dry‐toned reply that came out from Serafall's mouth. The other Satan simply raised their eyebrows in slight surprises. "What do you mean by 'a hero for fun'? I never heard such... a funny motive before...?" Even the Leviathan was not sure how to respond.

"Just as it says. I used to work as a hero because I found it fun... It's like a hobby." "Okay. Not only did that sound kind of half‐hearted, I don't think you can say that being a 'hero' is a real job." Serafall retorted.

"Well where I came from, we're... kind of paid for being heroes. There's even an association for that." Truth to be told, only Sirzechs so far who knew about Saitama being from 'another world' and Saitama, honestly was too lazy to explain everything all over again.

"Really? I see... Then I should go check this Hero Association of yours out during my next visit..." Serafall mused, thinking that her career as a magical girl would take another step forward.

Inwardly grateful that no further questions were asked, Saitama himself felt that he needed to stop Serafall, but found himself reluctant in the end. _"_ _Oh well_... _It's not like anything bad is gonna happen."_

And the lunch break went on without any major incidents.

* * *

Days passed and people in the Underworld kept doing their daily activities peacefully despite the fragile cease‐fire with the angels and fallen ones. Serafall Leviathan slumped on her desk as she finally finished the last sheet of her paper work. Letting out a breath, she then turned on her smart‐phone (invented and given by Ajuka Beelzebub for her social life) to see if there was any news regarding her territory, the Underworld itself, etc.

Rummaging through webpages, blogs and some other reports, Serafall found an update that there was a sighting of an S‐class stray devil in one of her more remote territories. The stray devil was formerly a queen and had been on the run for quite sometime now. Usually, this kind of issue would be dealt either by Behemoth, local guards, or middle and high‐class devils nearby, however seeing that she had nothing to do at the moment, she decided to stretch her limbs for a bit to deal with the issue herself. Not only the Stray Devil could be dispatched more easily by her power as a Satan, but if she went out there with her Magical Girl get‐up, it could promote her image as Miracle Levia‐tan in the eyes of populace who had not heard of her.

In other words, two birds with one stone.

Thus, Serafall Leviathan quickly changed into her 'uniform' and set to teleport straight away to her designated target.

 _(Scene Break)_

Lo and behold, the moment she arrived at her destination, Serafall immediately noticed the uproar not far from her position. Usually, Stray Devils tend to use human world as their hiding place. That world's awareness of supernatural was almost non‐existent, safe for those who were deemed to be more 'special'.

After all, there would be only a few among hundred who would believe that monsters were lurking around the darkness and prey on human flesh, thus the human world served as the perfect hiding place for strays. There was a reason why Stray Devils would tend to feed on humans. Apparently, human flesh and blood contained some essence and 'nutrition' that could boost the stray devil's power if the devil were to eat accordingly. For them, humans are easy, nutritious meals. However, some stray devils were willing to take a risk by hiding in the underworld and prey upon their own kind because unlike mere weak humans, one devil possessed greater essence that might be on par with tens and hundreds of humans. The security in the Underworld was far more fortified compared with human world, but it was worth the risk if the stray devil could gain power much faster.

Ignoring while inwardly appreciating some looks from the locals, Serafall flew towards the spike of demonic power and found the local guards were surrounding a monster that resembled, or to be more precise, had mutated into something akin to a deformed human that had fused with a giant worm. It seemed that devouring fellow devils had made the stray's appearance even more grotesque than those who lurked in the human world. Serafall also caught that the monster seemed to be able to spit acid wide enough to cover all of its blind spots, preventing the guards to get close. What made things slightly more complicated was that there were still some civilians with children in tow, still being evacuated, and the stray devil made the evacuation much harder.

When the evacuation process was almost done, the stray devil released an earth‐based magic attack as the ground before it rose into an avalanche, assaulting the guard that was occupied on evacuating the rest of the children. That was when Serafall quickly made her entrance.

The devil guards and the civilians were about to brace themselves at the incoming avalanches, only to find the said avalanches were frozen, creating a large wall of ice, blocking between the now shocked stray devil and the others. Noticing that particular attack and sensing the overwhelming aura descending upon them, everyone looked up at the sky to see a woman in pink frilly outfit was flying with her 'magic wand' outstretched.

"L‐Leviathan‐sama!" one of the guards recognized the figure.

"Yep~! Bringing forth love and peace to all those who believe! Bringing the downfall of evil with the power of hope and friendship! Magical girl Levia‐tan has entered the stage~!" Serafall announced her presence with her signature move and pose with magical hearts somewhat appeared around her when she winked in the end.

One of the guards would like to retort his leader about the situation, however, one of his comrades, presumably his senior simply placed his arms on his shoulder and shook his head, as if to say that there was nothing they could do now. The guard who wanted to retort earlier only glanced at his comrades before he turned to look at Serafall again and he reluctantly retreated.

"Leviathan‐sama..." another one of the guards spoke in grief tone. "Forgive us, but the stray had swallowed several civilians and soldiers before you've arrived..."

Serafall, who was still facing the stray, only jerked her head slightly at the news, her expression was not visible by those behind her. But the stray saw the Leviathan's expression went to a complete opposite of her cheerful presentation she showed earlier. The monster felt as if its spine was frozen many times over.

"I see..." Then Serafall turned to the guard with a kind smile on her face. "Thanks for your hard work~! Just take everyone else away from here and leave the rest to me~!"

"Yes! Please be careful." The guard said gratefully as he wished his leader good luck before he joined the others to retreat.

It was one on one between Serafall and the stray devil now. Despite the grave news, it would not be difficult for Serafall to kill the stray in matter of seconds, not to mention that the word 'swallow' and the size of the monster's jaw gave Serafall another idea. The possibility that those who were 'swallowed' might still be able to be saved if the Leviathan could just kill the stray and cut its belly open to salvage the 'eaten' locals. It might've been an absurd way of thinking, but even someone like Serafall could always hope and dream from time to time.

The other devils who had gained safe distance, waited in anticipation to see Serafall Leviathan, the Magical Girl Levia‐tan in action up close.

That is, until one of them noticed something descending from the sky.

"Now, it's between you and me now, with the power of love, I shall punish you~!" Serafall announced with another pose, not realizing the incoming object.

The stray devil, who also did not notice something was descending right from above, knew well that its fate had been sealed at the moment the Satan herself arrived at the scene. The stray was still not strong enough to even fight back and it was completely futile to run away, so the stray decided to go down in a blaze of glory with one, ear‐splitting, defiant roar. "GRRO‐!"

BLAAR! SPLAT!

The stray devil's roar, its final fight, and ultimately its life were cut‐short as something slammed onto it, resulting its body to explode in a burst of blood, guts and innards. Unfortunately, Serafall who was positioned right in front of the stray took the brunt of the burst as her body was covered with white and green slimy substance, her eyes were closed right in time to prevent any of the dirt to get into her eyes with her nose cringed in disgust at the sheer smell enveloping her body from head to toe. When Serafall finally opened her eyes and realized the state of her body, no words were able to describe how disgusted she felt.

When her view, as well as everyone else's, cleared up, something was seen moving from the middle of what remains of the stray devil.

It was a person. A bald man clad in a yellow suit with red gloves and boots, finishing off with a white cape waving on behind his back. The man was busy checking what appeared to be the civilians that miraculously were still in one piece despite had been swallowed by the stray devil before. As the man carefully cradled a little girl in his arms, the man gently patted her cheek, looking for any signs of life.

"Hey, you alive there?"

There was silence for few seconds, few nudging later, the child in Saitama's arms began to flinch and her eyebrows were twitching. Soon the girl's eyes were blinking and she coughed a bit, trying to regain her breathing.

"Uh... W‐where am I...? What happened...?" The girl drowsily muttered her wonder. Her eyes slowly made out Saitama's rather silly appearance.

"Hmm... Good, you're okay." Saitama then stood up and slowly placed the girl down before he helped her to stand on her legs. Soon the others who were once inside the stray's belly also began to regain consciousness.

It only a matter of seconds until everybody started to cheer on Saitama.

"Woooow! He saved us! That... bald dude in cape, he beat that monster in one attack!"

"He saved us! He saved us all!"

"Thank you! We'll never forget about this favour!"

And the cheers went on, leaving Serafall remained standing, while still posing with her body covered in goo. One could say that Serafall was more like a very dirty statue that had not been treated for years. Saitama then noticed the girl covered in goo and blinked at the sight and his nose slightly cringed at the smell coming from her. "Err... Are you alright, there?" Saitama asked as he approached.

"L‐Leviathan‐sama...?" One of the guards hesitantly addressed his leader, still actually bothered about the smell.

Serafall simply wiped some dirt off her face as her body slowly trembled in disgust. Saitama's eyes widened slightly in comprehension when he got a better look on her face. "Wait a second, you're the girl from the TV!" Saitama commented nonchalantly.

Serafall did not say anything more as she immediately teleported away from the scene. The guards shouted her name but there was nothing else they could do to somewhat appease her. Soon the populace started to gather to applaud and thank Saitama for coming to their rescue and the man himself awkwardly tried to address each of the people's gratitude towards him until he managed to slip away and go about his way.

* * *

In the luxurious bathroom of a large mansion, which was one of Serafall's many homes, the Leviathan was busy rubbing the grim off her body under showers of warm water.

"Stupid baldy... 'Hero for fun', he says... Making a fool out of me..." Serafall muttered as few tears slipped from her eyes, hidden away under the rinse of water.

Those tears were... Well, it was not that Serafall was unhappy about the whole fiasco earlier. The Leviathan was truly happy that her people were safe and she inwardly was thankful for Saitama. However, a part of her heart thought, _"_ _Could he have done it like, more_... _'cleanly', maybe?"_

Stealing her thunder during the fight was one thing, as much as Serafall dislike about it, but making her look like a third wheel which felt embarrassing as hell (or heaven?), creating such a mess like she was dealing right now, and not to mention the way he addressed her just... Pissed her off for some reasons. It felt as if she were watching Gabriel posing as another Magical Girl and plagiarizing her show.

As much as she was delighted about the safety of her people, her pride as a magical girl, whose duty is to protect and share the concept of love and friendship to populace, would not allow it. Turning off the water, Serafall took a deep breath and her eyes were set of what she was going to do.

She wanted to make peace between herself and her current situation.

* * *

Ajuka Beelzebub was... confused, for the lack of better word. Currently, he was in on a yacht belonged to Sirzech with the Lucifer himself was standing next to the Beelzebub on the docks. The yacht itself was distanced quite far away from a small, inhabited island, surrounded with protective barrier on the Arctic ocean.

"...Mind to remind me why we are here.. Again?" Ajuka asked as he held down a sigh.

"...Well, someone has to keep an eye on those two." Sirzechs nonchalantly replied. "And two pairs of eyes are better than one, no?" The Crimson Satan smiled jovially at the Lord of Flies.

Everything started during another casual gathering between the devil kings and Saitama was invited again as well. During the conversation, Serafall suddenly chastised Saitama about how a human from another race was not supposed to butt in to devil's affair, Saitama's half‐assed motto about being 'hero for fun', and stuff about 'humiliating her'. The reprimanding led to the Leviathan challenging the caped baldy to a one‐on‐one fight. In order to avoid any unwanted attention from the underworld, the group decided to take the match at the more secluded part of the human world, where any collateral damage could be brushed off as another natural disaster.

Saitama reluctantly accepted the challenge, seeing that it was unlikely to get out of this with Sirzechs volunteered himself to serve as an overseer during the match. Ajuka was requested to accompany them in case of things were getting out of hand, while Falbium was entrusted to watch over the underworld for a short while. The Asmodeus himself also did not want to bother to go along, as much as interesting the match sounded, and the head of Underworld's Military only asked to give him the footage for him to watch later when everything was over.

"And shouldn't we stop them? I can tell that Saitama is not an ordinary person, but to pit him against someone like Serafall is still..."

"It's fine, Ajuka." Sirzechs cut off his friend. "We both know that it's useless trying to stop Serafall once she is set on what she wants to do. And I assure you, Saitama is much stronger than he looks."

Ajuka narrowed his eyes skeptically at Sirzech's smiling face, then sighing as his gaze was towards the stage to see how everything would turn out.

And speaking of those two, Serafall and Saitama were standing at the centre of the island, facing each other. Serafall was clad in her magical girl costume, along with her magic wand with Saitama in his white‐caped hero suit.

"Thanks for going along with my selfishness, Saitama‐chan~." Serafall adorned her cheerful attitude, but one with experience could tell that the magical girl was nothing but ready to fight at any moment's notice.

"It's fine. It's not like we're trying to kill each other, right? And again... I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't know that you were there." Saitama said as he walked to gain some distance in preparation for the fight.

"Ahaha, I told you it's fine~. And I also told you that you did a good job, didn't I~?" Serafall waved off. "However, a match without something at stake sounds boring, no? Let's make a wager." Serafall proposed with a gleam on her eyes. "If I win, you'll be my slave for a whole day. Of course, the same would be applied the other way around."

Saitama only blinked at the proposal, then he let out a small sigh. "...Okay."

"Awesome~! Then, without further ado, shall we~?" Serafall winked as she pointed her wand at Saitama.

"...Yeah, let's do this." Saitama remained standing on his position impassively.

And suddenly Serafall quickly took off to the sky and immediately 'glittered', sending volley of her demonic power to destroy the landscape surrounding Saitama. Her destructive attack was still much weaker compared to Gremory and Bael clan's Power of Destruction, but the attack was enough to make the island's surface be completely obliterated.

Serafall herself was holding back in her attacks. After all, she had promised to the others that she would not cause too much damage in the human world to avoid exposing the supernatural. As the explosion occurred, Serafall hovered to see any sign of life and she found a white‐and‐yellow blur zig‐zagging between the dust cloud from earlier explosions.

Immediately, Serafall dived down and gave chase to Saitama while firing a barrage of icicles at the man. At her attack, Saitama simply dodged and block the wave of ice that was coming his way. Several minutes had past, and the two kept moving on high‐speed with Saitama running across the terrain and Serafall flew after him. Serafall kept changing her attack pattern, her elemental magic, her formula etc., but Saitama either simply dodged them with enough ease or simply took it head‐on with his fist. What aggravated the Leviathan the most that Saitama's expression remained stoic, as if the man was not even trying at all.

"With strength like that... You chose to be a hero only for the fun of it..." Serafall muttered as she started to become frustrated. "Do you even know what it means to be a hero!?"

Saitama did not say anything in return as he kept moving without any sign of counter‐attacking.

"I've become a magical girl so I can teach peace, love and friendship to the Underworld! So every child can smile and I can be something that can cheer my So‐tan up!" Serafall then ascended towards the sky. "Becoming a hero with that half‐assed motivation like yours... I won't accept that kind of heroes! Magical Girls are the true heroes!"

Saitama stopped his movement at the same time Serafall ceased her attack to take off to the sky. Then, Saitama saw a giant circle with a complex code or formula written and surrounding a symbol that looked like a blue necklace, appearing before the Leviathan.

Meanwhile on the yacht away from the island, Ajuka widened his eyes as he recognized what Serafall was about to do. "That's...! Serafall, you're going too far!" Ajuka was about to step in, but then he was stopped by Sirzechs' arm. "Sirzechs, what do you‐?" Sirzechs did not say anything as his expression remained calm. Ajuka's eyebrows furrowed as he returned to watch the fight with worried looks.

"...Oooh...?" Saitama only set his sight at the glowing magic circle above him. The scale of the magic circle was large enough to cover the entire island.

"Other than simply for the fun of it, DO YOU EVEN HAVE SOMETHING WORTH BEING HERO FOR!?"

With that last cry, Serafall released her magic and demonic power and the magic circle flashed upon Saitama.

As Saitama's field of vision became white, an image from his past suddenly flashed before him.

 _A clean hospital room_...

 _Fresh air from the sunny weather and clear blue skies flowing through the window, making the curtain waved as the wind blew_...

 _A stainless, white sheet on a bed with a woman laid upon it_...

 _The woman had long, brown hair that was tied in a ponytail, clad in a new hospital gown, was cradling a baby in her arms. The baby had a hair with lighter shade compared to his mother's_...

 _And finally, the smile that woman showed when she turned to look at him, followed with the baby's healthy cry_...

Yes...

It was the moment when Saitama found something else that became his reason why he became a hero, other than simply for the fun of it.

* * *

When the light faded, Ajuka and Sirzechs's view cleared up and they found the entire island had been transformed into a giant piece of ice floating on the sea with Serafall still hovering above it.

"...She's done it now." Ajuka said as he closed his eyes in resignation. "We have to get Saitama out of there before it's too late for him..."

"Ajuka, you're underestimating Saitama way too much."

The Beelzebub turned towards Sirzechs with slight incredulous look. The latter simply continued before the former could have asked further. "Say, Ajuka... Do you remember the day when I returned to the underworld, beaten up?"

Ajuka thought for a second before he nodded. "Yes, I remember you slacked off on your work again. Wasn't it your queen's doing? I always think that Grayfia sometimes can be very excessive with her punishment."

Sirzechs only chuckled a bit before replying. "I'm sorry to say this, but it wasn't Grayfia's doing."

"Excuse me?"

"It wasn't Grayfia's doing. I left it as it was because Grayfia advised me not to let anyone know that their leader was defeated by a human."

Ajuka blinked few times at Sirzechs answer before his eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait... You don't mean...!" Then the Beelzebub turned his sight on the stage.

"...Yes, it was Saitama‐kun who had beaten me one‐on‐one back there." Sirzechs continued with his smile still present on his face.

* * *

Serafall let out a breath as she just released her signature 'Celsius Cross Trigger' that turned the entire island into a frozen world. Only after that she realized that she had gone too far in a fight against a human. How did she lose herself? Was it simply a heat of battle? Was it because of Saitama? How come that man managed to rile her up so much?

However, while she was still contemplating in her mind, she failed to notice that cracks started to appear on the frozen island's entire surface, and suddenly...

CRANG!

A loud shattering sound was heard and Serafall's widened her eyes in shock as most part of the frozen island turned into pieces of ice in varying sizes, before something shot out towards her at the same time the island was 'shattered'.

"Whew... That was freezing in there." That was what Serafall heard a second after she saw Saitama's poker face blurred towards her and vanished right before her.

"And about your last question..."

BAM!

Serafall could not even mutter a single word out of her mouth when she felt a tremendous pain slammed into her nape, sending her back to the planet at high speed. The Leviathan finally crashed into the remainder of the island, shattering what was left into pieces as well.

"Yeah, I do." Saitama said as he let the gravity to do its job on him. "Then again, it only makes being hero even more fun than I used to think."

Back at the yacht, Ajuka's jaw was dropped at the spectacle while Sirzechs only shook his head in amusement.

* * *

During the aftermath of the battle, Falbium was actually waiting at the underground train station to pick‐up Sirzechs, Ajuka, Saitama and Serafall who just finally awoke after several hours trip back to the mainland. It was also to have Saitama go through proper procedure for travelling to the Underworld, considering that Saitama would be visiting for more occasions. When Falbium got a word about how the match ended, the Asmodeus regretted his laziness for the first time as he wished that he could have seen the fight with his own eyes.

Following the deal of the match, the loser, Serafall had to swallow her pride as she had to serve the victor, Saitama, in a maid outfit that had been prepared by Sirzechs (it was one of Grayfia's). Serafall was used to take photo‐shoots in those outfits, so wearing the uniform itself was no issue for her, but to wear such clothes while having to bow her head in front of her colleagues and serving Saitama with his irritating poker‐face (as Serafall dubbed it) on, Serafall had to threaten her friends that what happened in that train would forever stay in that train.

When they arrived in the Underworld however, despite having good intentions, Saitama only made Serafall felt bitter even more when he suddenly nulled the deal out of pity. Ever since that day, Serafall swore to herself that she would her vengeance on a certain bald man who she saw as a poor‐excuse of a hero.

The skirmish between Serafall and Saitama still happened from time to time whenever Saitama made a visit to the underworld, with Serafall wanting to prove that magical girls were better than heroes, but that was a story for another time.

 **And**... **that's it for the first chapter, folks! Many people wondered what happened between Serafall and Saitama, and this is the nutshell of it. Did I do justice in depicting their interactions and their fight? I hope I didn't make Serafall OOC or Saitama any less badass. In case of Serafall, I tried to show** **that the girl is not as shameless/bold as she appeared in the canon. I was simply trying to bring out a hidden/unknown side of Serafall in this story.**

 **Sorry if the ending seemed rushed, because I think it might end up to be a mere filler if I elaborated it again. Thoughts?**

 **And for those who wondered about the stray's appearance, it was based on The Wicked Worm Beast from Yugi Oh franchise, but bigger. I hope I can come up with better ideas if I happened have to show more monstrous enemies for Saitama to kill. Constructive reviews are welcome but flames will be ignored, so save it, guys. Ahsoei, over and out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dragons and Heroes: The Fist Marks**

 **Yeah! Hello again, my dear readers! I'm so glad with the reviews on my latest chapter of Legacy story! I'm glad that you like my ideas about drunken Issei. So, without further ado, here's the update for Fist Marks! Happy Easter, guys!**

* * *

 **This chapter is edited by KoroshiyaBlaze**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Hero Travels to Europe**

Shidou Irina was on her way back home from her school that afternoon, right when she just finished another of her exorcist training regiment. It had been 8 years ever since she had to leave her homeland, Japan, as well as her childhood friend/crush, Hyoudou Issei. She couldn't remember why she was attracted to the boy in the first place, but those two years spending time with him were truly precious and she would treasure those moments forever.

She still remembered how shy the boy was when they first met and how fun he was to be with once he opened up to her. How heroic he looked when they were playing heroes together and how sad it was when Irina had to move out to England due to her family background and profession. Ever since their separation, the girl promised herself she would…. Much to her embarrassment, reunite with the boy again and stay with the boy for the rest of her life.

When she made another turn in her neighbourhood, she caught the sight of a bald man that was looking around with a confused expression on his face. The man was wearing a white, long-sleeved T-shirt, black slacks and a pair of black boots. He was only carrying what appeared to be a duffle bag. When Irina got a good look on the man's face, her eyes widened in recognition as she recollected where she had seen the face before.

It was during another visit to the Hyoudou household when Irina asked Issei about his father. Issei solemnly claimed that he did not recall his last meeting with his father and only knew his face from old pictures. Irina would be lying if she was not shocked when she saw the picture of Issei's father, seeing that the father and son had almost no resemblance with each other. Issei believed that in terms of appearance, he took more after his mother than his father.

When the bald man noticed Irina's presence, he looked around in silent hesitation before he finally approached her. When he stopped in front of her, the man took out a book with its cover that said, 'Idiot's Guide to London' as heflipped through several pages.

"Uh… Err… Ekskyusu mi…." The man suddenly muttered. Irina blinked at the man's very heavily accented English. "Um… Purizu ter mi…"

Irina vaguely guessed that the accent used was that of Japanese. Thankfully, being born from the country of Far East, Irina also knew how to speak the language. "Are you Japanese?" Irina interrupted in her native tongue.

"Eh…? You speak Japanese?" The man replied with the same language.

Irina giggled softly. "Yes. I was born there, after all. So, may I help you?"

The man then let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. I thought I was the only foreigner around here. Um, right…. Can you tell me where I can find the nearest hotel or lodging here? Cheap ones if possible."

"Hmm… There are a lot of hotels and inns in the city if you go visit the main road after you take turn in that corner, but I don't think there's a lot of cheap ones…." Irina replied. The man's expression turned into disappointment from hearing the girl's response, then Irina leaned closer to get a better look.

"Say, mister… Are you… Hyoudou Saitama, by any chance?"

The bald man blinked couple of times at Irina's question before replying. "Err… Have we met before?"

"I knew it! You're Ise-kun's father!" Irina exclaimed with sparkling emotion. "You're exactly the same as your photo!"

"You know Ise?" The man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Why, yes. We used to play together when we're kids. My name is Shido Irina. My parents used to be your neighbours."

The man, now identified as Saitama, put on a thoughtful expression until he remembered something. "Oh, you're Touji's daughter…. Yeah, yeah, I remember him… Sorry, I travel a lot, so I rarely met your parents. I usually let Haruka to handle everything around the house."

"Fufufu… It's fine. Your wife explained how busy you are to look after your family. So, Saitama-san… Do you have some business in England this time?" Irina asked.

"Well… sort of. But I don't plan to stay long here. Maybe only for few days, a week tops."

Irina nodded at the information and Saitama turned his heels. "Well, it's good to meet you here, Irina. Tell your parents that I said hi." Saitama waved his hand.

"Ah, wait!" Irina interrupted, causing Saitama to stop on his tracks. "Um… If you're worried about a place to stay, why don't you spend a night in my house?"

Saitama blinked at the offer. "Ah, no, thanks. I can't just barge into your parents and all…"

"No need to worry about that…" Irina denied. "It's already bit too late to find any vacant hotel rooms at this hour, and I believe this is the perfect opportunity to get yourself more familiar with your old neighbours. My parents will be delighted to meet you again."

Saitama darted his gaze around in contemplation until Irina added. "Besides, it's not everyday you could meet someone offering you a free space to sleep."

Saitama let out a small sigh and simply smiled. "Well, don't mind if I do. Thanks, Irina."

* * *

"It's been… over 14 years, hasn't it, Saitama-kun?" Shidou Touji said as his family and Saitama were seated at the dining table. "Last time we saw each other was when you and your wife congratulated our daughter's safe birth."

For Saitama, Shidou household was very… lavish, compared with his home in Japan. It was a large western style house, not that huge, but its design gave more aesthetic feeling despite its simplicity compared with his own house. The dining room where he was sitting was on the same floor with the living room, allowing Saitama to have a good look at the living room that contained a fancy couch, a television set and a fireplace. He recalled that the house itself had a chimney.

"I… think so." Saitama replied. "Thanks again, though. Irina here was really a lifesaver. I thought I'd have to sleep on the streets tonight."

"No, no. I'm glad that I was able to help, Saitama-san." Irina quipped. "I simply put our Lord's teaching into practice, that's all."

Saitama blinked at the girl, before he realised. "Ah, right. You guys are Christian, right?"

"Protestant catholic, to be precise." Touji's wife, Shidou Myrana corrected. "Tell me, Saitama-san. When do you plan to go back to Japan? It's been so long since the last time I heard about you from Haruka-san. I'm sure she and your son miss you so much."

"Well, it's not that I don't want to go home, it's just… Well… not the right time yet." Saitama said as he simply gazed at nothing.

"Um, Saitama-san. If I may ask, what do you do for living?" Irina asked this time.

"A hero for fun." Saitama replied straight to the point, resulting looks from the Shidou family.

"I beg your pardon?"

"A hero for fun." Saitama repeated. "That's what I do for living."

The room went silent for a moment before Irina broke it. "So…. You're basically some kind of rescue worker?" The girl tried to make the head and tail of things.

"…Yeah, you can say that." Saitama replied with a shrug before he rummaged through his belongings. "And here's my contact number. You can call me if you ever needed my help. Fees are not mandatory." Saitama gave each of Shidou a small piece of paper containing his phone number.

For a man to travel alone around the world, a source of income was absolutely necessary. It was an awkward and slightly shady advertisement, but Touji simply smiled and put the card inside his pocket. A good will should always been appreciated, after all.

"Thanks. I'll be sure to remember your contact should the occasion arise." Touji said sincerely. Saitama's expression might barely contain any seriousness, but the pastor of the Protestant Church did not sense any deceit in Saitama's voice.

Saitama took a sip of his drink and he caught something on the corner of his eyes. Above the fire-place, there was a broadsword with golden trimmings was placed. "That's a nice sword."

Everyone also turned to look at the family heirloom. "Thank you. It's been in our possession even before we moved here." Touji explained. "Haven't you supposed to see it already, Saitama-kun?"

"Um, sorry. I wasn't looking around that time."

"Fufu, it's fine. Now, enough chit-chat and let's start enjoying the dinner, shall we?" Myrana ended the talk.

Saitama almost began eating by himself when he found that Shidou family had a habit of saying grace before began eating. He silently waited until the prayer had finished and everyone began eating. The dinner was accompanied with more small chit chats, much to everyone's enjoyment.

oXo

The night fell and while everyone was off asleep.

Touji came down from his bedroom to get himself a drink. The herbal tea his wife kept in the fridge always helped him to sleep when the need arise. Then, he spotted Saitama was standing right in front of the sword ornament above the fireplace. Smiling lightly, the pastor then prepared two glasses of the herbal tea and he approached Saitama.

"Can't sleep?" Touji started talking as he arrived beside Saitama.

"Ah, Touji…" Saitama blinked. Then he stared at the glass that Touji offered to him with a smile on his face. After few seconds of eye contact, Saitama wordlessly took the glass and took a sip from it. "This is good…" Saitama said after he got a taste of the tea.

"That's a herbal tea that my wife made to help me sleep better." Touji explained. "So, you can't sleep as well? I'm sorry if our couch is not comfortable enough for you to sleep on."

"No, no. Your couch may be small, but I gotta admit that it's far more comfortable than my own bed at home." Saitama joked, receiving a small chuckle from Touji. "I just returned from toilet and I suddenly wanted to see this sword up-close."

"It's called Hauteclere." Touji introduced the sword. "It's a holy sword that is believed to be able to purify evil spirits."

Saitama hummed in understanding while rubbing his chin. The two fell into a comfortable silence and Touji took another sip of his tea before continuing. "Do you have any interest in swords, Saitama-kun?"

Saitama shook his head while his eyes remained on the sword. "Nah. I've seen some good swords during my travels, this is just another fine sword that I ran to."

"So you've seen other famous swords before?" Touji asked with interest.

"Well, yeah." Saitama shrugged again. "I've been around place to place, after all…"

Touji only nodded and another comfortable silence fell upon them. Touji took another sip and he darted his gaze to Saitama. "Say, Saitama-kun… What do you know about supernatural?"

Saitama blinked and he turned to look at Touji. "Well, I got the big picture about this Great War between angels, fallen angels, devils… Why are you asking me this?"

"Because something told me that you know more than you let out to us." Touji replied with neutral tone, his eyes showed that he was intrigued at the current development.

Saitama simply returned his gaze back to the holy sword. "I guess I have seen a lot of things before I arrived here."

Touji kept staring at the man beside him. Ever since their first meeting back in Japan, his trained eyes as an exorcist could perceive an aura that seemed bottomless. And their latest meeting earlier, Saitama did seem to keep something from him, but Touji did not sense any deceit, malice or ill intent coming from him. However, he needed to make sure.

"Tell me, Saitama-kun. Whose side are you on in this war?"

Saitama went silent for a second before replying. "I guess nobody in particular. If anything, I only intend surpress the loss of innocent lives as low as I can."

Touji's lips turned up to a smile at the reply. "I see…." He nodded. "That's what I need to hear, I suppose. Well, it's late, we should go back to bed. Have a good night, Saitama-kun." Touji bid his goodnight and walked away.

"Okay."

* * *

A week had passed after Irina's encounter with Saitama. The latter left Shidou household after saying his gratitudes, despite Touji and Myrana's offer for him to stay longer. Irina's training and conditioning to be a genuine exorcist went on as usual and she finally met all requirements to be a legitimate exorcist, as well as to wield one of the Excalibur fragments.

Irina's first mission was to hunt down a rogue vampire who had been on the run for quite some time, before he was last seen on the streets of London. She had been granted permission to utilize her Excalibur Mimic to help her hunt. The Vatican Church had also assigned someone to be her partner.

The profile said that Irina's first partner was a natural-born holy sword wielder and the current wielder of Excalibur Destruction.

Here she was, waiting at the arrival section of the airport, waiting for her assigned partner, transferred all the way from Italy. Some time had passed and she finally saw someone with a face that matched her partner's profile. The said partner was a girl with a long blue hair wearing an outfit consisting a pair of black shorts that went down her knees and a white dress-shirt. The girl was carrying what it seemed to be a large package wrapped in white cloth.

Upon meeting, Irina approached the girl and greeted. "Hello there."

The blue-haired girl stared for a second before she replied. "Shidou Irina?"

Irina nodded. "Xenovia Quarta."

The girl identified as Xenovia then smiled as she gave an approving nod.

"I've read your papers before I came here. So you're the wielder of Excalibur Mimic? It's a pleasure to meet you." Xenovia extended her hand.

Irina smiled brightened as she shook Xenovia's hand. "Yes, the very one. I'm looking forward to working with you, Xenovia."

"Same here, Irina."

"Well then, shall we go? We need to arrange your stay, as well as go over the details of the mission."

Let the Vampire Hunt begin.

* * *

"Hmm…. Another dead end, huh…" Xenovia muttered as she leaned back on her chair of the café where she and Irina were taking a break.

It had been almost another week since the mission had begun, and their search for the target had not bear fruit. They had been searching for each night, ended the search few hours before dawn to give the two girls sometime to rest, since vampires only go out during night time. Searching vampires directly during the day was nearly impossible and the girls used their time during the day for information gathering before the hunt.

"We've asked around for any suspicious people, news, stories, even just weird rumours and urban legends, but direct search during night is our only viable option… Perhaps the vampire has already moved to another town?" Irina asked Xenovia.

"Possible, but we just found several victims with their bodies emptied of their blood last night. Until the victims stopped coming out for the next few days or a week, I highly doubt that our target had gone somewhere else." Xenovia replied in a grim tone.

"….We need to find him fast… So there will be no more innocent lives lost…" Irina concluded with her hand clasped together. Her expression determined, yet bitter.

"For our fallen brothers and sisters as well…." Xenovia added in agreement. The details of the mission had said that while the vampire they were hunting was a 'low-class', it had killed several exorcists that had been dispatched before Irina and Xenovia.

"Irina?"

A new voice was heard, and the girls turned to see Saitama was approaching them.

"Saitama-san?" Irina honestly did not expect to meet the man again, but it was not unwelcomed. "You're still in London?"

"Well, yeah. Something came up so I have to extend my stay here. Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"…Um, my school had ended early for today." It was not entirely untrue. Irina's school was an institute under direct management of Protestant Church and Vatican, purposed to nurture promising youths to be servants and warriors of the Lord in future. Due to Irina and Xenovia's current mission, the school had given a permit to leave classes early in order to fulfill her duty as an exorcist.

"Hmm… I see. Well, I'll leave you and your friend here." When Saitama's eyes landed on Xenovia. Saitama ended up staring at the girl's blue hair.

It only took few seconds for Saitama to realize that he was staring at a teenage girl. "Ah, sorry. It's just… It's the first time for me seeing a blue hair like yours." Saitama gave a small bow while rubbing his head apologetically.

Xenovia blinked before she simply closed her eyes. "It's fine. I get that a lot."

Saitama blinked at the language Xenovia used on him. "You speak Japanese too?"

"Studying foreign languages is a part of our curriculum here. She can speak basic Japanese conversation." Irina explained, receiving an understanding nod from Saitama. "Oh, by the way, she's a transfer student from Italy. Her name is Xenovia." Irina introduced her partner to lighten up the mood as the aforementioned girl nodded her head in greeting.

"The name's Saitama, nice to meet you. Well, I'll take my leave now. Have fun, girls." Saitama waved his hand as he walked away.

After seeing Saitama's figure vanished into the crowd, Xenovia asked her partner. "Irina… Who was that?"

"He's an old family friend. I used to play a lot with his son during my stay in Japan…. What is it, Xenovia?" Irina asked Xenovia, who was narrowing her eyes at the direction where Saitama had disappeared.

"…No, it's just…. He looks normal, but the way he walked and moved earlier… It's like he had walked through a battlefield. He was relaxed, but I couldn't find any openings at all."

Irina put up a thoughtful look. "Oh, come now. I don't think Saitama-san is that kind of…. Well, Saitama-san sure has a good and strong posture… I think it's just his body had been accumulated by a lot of walking? He has been traveling around the world, after all."

"Hmm…. Traveling around the world, huh? I guess that makes sense." Xenovia seemed to accept the logic. "Anyway, let's continue our investigation, shall we? And we also have to submit our weekly report."

Irina nodded and the two female exorcists continued their hunt.

* * *

It was night time and the two female warriors of the church were walking on the dark streets of London. The girls were wearing their battle gear with their respective weapons at hand: Irina with her Excalibur Mimic wrapped on her wrist, and Xenovia with her Excalibur Destruction strapped on her back.

The moon was shining brightly above them, illuminating the dark sky. The street was devoid of life, as every citizen was in deep slumber. However, the serene, peaceful atmosphere that night only served as a sign for Irina and Xenovia that something big was going to take place, at least for the two of them.

"So…. We're going to take another look at that old docks?" Irina asked Xenovia as the two walked on.

"Yeah. If we're looking back at our investigation again… The areas where the sightings occurred have some kind of pattern. We actually overlooked this idea because we assumed that this vampire just attacked people at random places. If our hypothesis is correct, then the next location for him to feed should be around here. After all, you told me that sailors and fishermen still use this place late at night sometimes."

As the two kept walking, they felt a presence in front of them. While it should not be uncommon for one or two people still walking down the street that late night, it was still enough to put Irina and Xenovia a bit on their edges. They waited for few seconds until they saw the figure coming out to the area where the moon shone on.

"Saitama-san?" that was Irina's first words when she got a good look on the incoming figure. As the moon light glimmered upon his head, Saitama was wearing his attire from earlier, only his top was added with his OPPAI-logo sweater. The man was also carrying his traveling bag over his shoulder.

Irina's eyes widened at the sight of Saitama's sweater. "Oh, my God! Saitama-san, what on earth are you wearing!?" Irina shouted as she covered her flustered face.

Saitama only blinked and looked back and forth between Irina and his sweater. "Err…. My sweater…? What's your problem?"

"But, but…! The writing, it's so indecent! Oh God, don't tell me you've been wearing that around the town!?" Irina pointed her finger accusingly.

"Who cares about the logo? The fabric is comfortable to wear, that's all. Besides, this thing is souvenir from my first date with Haruka." Saitama replied apathetically.

"…Oh, I see." Xenovia then placed her fist on her palm, as she got an epiphany. "I only heard it on passing… So that's woman's breast in Japanese language."

"Xenovia, please read the mood!" Irina retorted before she returned to Saitama. "Anyway, you should take off that sweater in public before people misunderstand!"

"That's rich coming from you." Saitama shot back. "Look at you two. Black, skin-tight BDSM get-ups under a single cloak….. I didn't know you girls have that kind of hobby…" Saitama said as he sent a dirty look.

"How rude! This isn't anything vulgar!" Irina retorted and while the scowling Xenovia did not really understand the terms from Saitama's mouth, she could tell that Saitama was mocking their attire. "This is our battle gear that allows more flexible movement!"

However, Xenovia's eyes widened slightly and she snapped her head at what came out from Irina's mouth afterwards. "We're on the mission from the Lord in Heaven!" The girl immediately slammed her mouth shut with her hand as she realized her slip-up on revealing their mission. "U-um… I mean, we're… You know…?"

Saitama only blinked at remained impassive at the awkward atmosphere between him and the two girls. Then, Saitama let out a soft sigh. "…I see. So you two are… err, what are they called again? Exorcists? You two are exorcists." Saitama concluded.

The girl blinked at Saitama's conclusion. "You…. Know about us?" Irina asked.

"From Touji. He filled me the basics of what you guys do for living." Saitama shrugged. "….Well, I won't get in the way of your work. But just to make sure, are you two aware what you're dealing with?" Saitama asked with serious expression.

The two girls, especially Irina were taken aback at Saitama's sudden change of demeanor. The man's sharp looks demanded an honest answer from the two. After the girls exchanged looks at each other, Xenovia was the one to answer with resolute face.

"Yes, we are. We will carry the duty bestowed upon us from The Lord, no matter what." Irina also nodded in agreement.

Saitama remained staring at the two girls and the latter's faces did not show any sign of backing down. Saitama then closed his eyes as he let out a hum.

"Alright then. Good luck with your mission." Saitama turned his heels around and walked away with his hand waving at the girls. "Ah. I almost forgot. Irina!" Saitama stopped on his track and turned his head towards the aforementioned girl. "I'm actually leaving tonight by plane. Send my thanks to your parents for letting me stay in your house!"

Irina's expression brightened up as she waved her hand in return. "I will! Thanks for dropping by, Saitama-san! I wish you a safe flight and your return here again sometime! Oh and seriously, please take off that sweater when you're at the airport! May the Lord be with you! Amen!"

Saitama only snorted before he finally vanished into the darkness of the night.

"Whew, that was… somehow interesting. Don't you think so, Xenovia?" Irina commented.

"I… guess so. I still feel something's off with that man, though." Xenovia replied.

"Oh, come on. I think you're just being paranoid before the mission. Let's go, Xenovia. We have a heretic to smite!" Irina then took the step forward towards their destination.

"Yeah, and let's put some bounded field before heading there. We can't have any civilians involved here." Xenovia followed as Irina replied in affirmative.

Meanwhile, Saitama felt the night breeze on his skin and he turned towards the direction where he left the two exorcists before. It had been quite sometime since Saitama left those girls. Saitama gazed at the direction for a while before he let out another sigh, and his body suddenly blurred away from sight.

* * *

Barthe'lemy de Auguste, or known as Barthelemy of the Mist, was sitting on his make-shift throne made of a pile of pipe beams and debris from inside one of the warehouses in the old harbour.

The man's appearance was that of a middle-aged man with hardened features, set of trimmed mustache and beard, with pale skin and platinum hair. He was wearing a suit of noble outfit with gauntlet and greaves on his limbs, a zweihander was planted on the ground right by his side.

The vampire's head was hung low, his eyes closed in silence as he was reminiscing the past. He remembered the time when he had finally been acknowledged to be the head of Auguste household, serving the Tepes clan during the Great War between spawns of Judeo-Christian pantheon, where the vampires accepted the alliance offered by the devils.

Leading his legion of vampire knights, Barthelemy had slain countless angels and fallen alike, along with their allies during the course of the war. However, the war between the Three Powers seemed to be at stalemate, with nothing tipping the scales until _those two_ showed up, much to his _slight_ horror.

Those two, the Heavenly Dragons, red and white, suddenly appeared and swept through the battlefield like Juggernaut. In their battle for supremacy, the dragons, each possessed a power that rivals Gods and Satan alike, rampaged against each other as many soldiers and warriors were unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire. His army and brethren was decimated through the sheer force of their clash, and the war that day soon became nothing but _survival_.

Seeing the damage done by the Two Heavenly Dragons, the vampire lords sent out orders for their army to retreat from the battle, leaving their devil allies to their own device. Months went by as there was no any news about the development of the war. However, the vampire got a wind that the Three Factions had made a temporary truce to subdue the Two Heavenly Dragons and they had succeeded in doing so. Logical decision, the vampire leaders had to admit. Temporary union with the enemy in order to eliminate any factor that could jeopardize the entire purpose of their war before they returned on each other's necks.

Afterwards, the vampires were expecting another envoy from the devils to come to them, whether to voice complaints or another request for reinforcement. However, what came to them was that the Three Powers decided to have a cease-fire, leaving their battle into a cold-war state. From there on out, vampires would not have to worry about marching into war for a while.

Then a civil war broke out…

Due to the damage done to the vampires by the Great War and Two Heavenly Dragons, the vampires were in dispute about who should act as their leader. The choices were quite simple: man or woman. Many voiced their opinions and arguments about each other's power, achievement and lacking, until the vampire race was divided into two opposing factions: The Tepes Faction, led by Tepes clan, a group who believed in men's supremacy over women, and the opposing group who held a contradicting belief, Carmila Faction. The civil war was not as devastating as the Great War, but it was enough reason for Barthelemy to leave his clan and homeland to travel across the world, seeking and feeding the blood of mortals to sustain himself. He chose to leave because….

oXo

His train of thought was interrupted when he sensed intruders in his current hideout.

' _Intruders…. Two of them….'_ Barthelemy told himself in his utilized his vampiric senses.

His eyes saw through the wall similar to an X-ray vision, looking through walls and obstacles to pin-point the location of his targets. His vision perceived the two intruders that were covered in what it seemed to be a golden aura.

' _Exorcists…. With holy swords….'_ Then Barthelemy put his power to work. Mist started to gather around the harbour, obscuring everything from sight.

Irina and Xenovia who had entered the area for sometime quickly summoned their weapons when their surroundings were enveloped in a thick fog.

"Irina!" Xenovia yelled in warning, Excalibur Destruction readied in her hands. The girl in question only nodded as she scanned her surrounding.

The two female exorcists simply stood back-to-back in the midst of fog for good few minutes, until _it_ suddenly came. The two suddenly felt a killing intent from one direction and the two immediately jumped away to avoid a zweihander slamming on them.

The two girls regained their footing and they finally saw their enemy, who remained crouching after bringing his sword down, and he slowly stood up to take glances at the two exorcists.

"Barthe'lemy de Auguste, for the treachery and evil you have done towards our brothers and sisters, we shall smite you here in the name of our Lord!" Xenovia declared as she and Irina discarded their cloaks and robes, preparing for battle.

In the presence of the fragments of Excalibur, Barthelemy remained calm as he gave a quick read on his two opponents. "So you two are really the emissaries from the Heaven…" Then the vampire gave a silent sigh. "How Heavens had become so short of manpower…. They send only little girls to come after me?"

"Don't underestimate us, you heretic. Two of us are more than enough to deal with you!" Irina replied with venom in her voice.

Barthelemy's lips slightly twitched upwards before his body 'burst' into a flock of bats, slightly startling the exorcists as the bats started to fly around.

X

Moments had passed, nd sounds of steel clashing one another had been heard from the midst of fog surrounding the old harbour in the dead of the night. Barthelemy had been using his skill he gained from his experience over centuries in fighting Irina and Xenovia simultaneously.

Both exorcists had been separated from each other from the vampire's first attack. When the vampire began his onslaught, he raised his mist thicker, preventing Irina and Xenovia to see each other. Then, by altering from his full form and his flock-of-bats form, Barthelemy would engage one exorcist in a sword fight at one time, and he would change into a flock of bats again to move to the other's position to engage in another fight. This cycle kept going for a while.

Xenovia and Irina soon realized that taking a vampire on Barthelemy's calibur was way too much for their first mission. Xenovia could barely keep up with Barthelemy's agility with her Excalibur Destruction, as her blade kept being parried by Barthelemy's zweihander and always missed its mark. It did not take long until Xenovia had it enough and she utilized the main attribute of her Excalibur. She channelled all holy attribute into her blade and she slammed it onto the ground.

"HAAA!"

BOOM!

The ground where Xenovia and Barthelemy fought on shattered upon impact of raw destructive force. Barthelemy simply dispersed into bats and he immediately moved towards Irina. The said girl was heading towards the source of destruction Xenovia had caused, hoping to regroup with partner again when Barthelemy's bats suddenly gathered, manifesting the bloodsucker's full body and the vampire forced Irina to parry his attack before the two were engaged in another combat.

Irina, being a rookie exorcist was being pushed back yet again as she desperately parried every strike Barthelemy threw at her. The way the vampire forced Irina to step back was obviously to prevent the girl from regrouping with her comrade. Small cuts appeared on Irina's body as the girl was slowly being pushed into the corner.

"….Kuh! If it comes to this, then….." Irina decided to use some of her other arsenals when it comes to fighting vampires.

She took few leaps back, creating a distance not far enough to escape the vampire, but far enough to utilize the special item. Barthelemy, who kept chasing after Irina, then saw the girl dropped an item that appeared to be…

' _A hand grenade?'_

"Gotcha." Irina smiled as the bomb blew up, right when Barthelemy was only few inches away from Irina. However, instead of shrapnel or fire, the said grenade was releasing some sort of gas, enveloping the two in the process. When the vampire's nose inhaled some of the gas…

"Gurk!?" the vampire's nose cringed as he felt a sting on his eyes. He coughed several times as he jumped back to gain distance. He could not breath for few seconds from the foul stench piercing his nostrils, his eyes felt watery and the all familiar with the foul stench he was smelling at the moment.

' _This smell….. Garlic!?'_ Barthelemy thought as he tried to regain his senses. He barely managed to block something akin to a whip sneaking its way towards his heart.

CLANG!

The sound of steel made Barthelemy saw that the 'whip' was actually Irina's sword transformed into one. "I see…. So you're here with some preparation, after all…" Then Barthelemy put the Irina transforming sword and its holy aura together. "So the words are true…. The Sword of Promised Victory had been shattered during that war…"

"Yes, this is Excalibur Mimic. And the thing I threw at you was a special garlic grenade prepared by the church. Apparently garlic is quite harmful to vampires like you." Irina smiled in satisfaction.

Vampires possess sharp sense of smell, too sharp that strong scents like garlic could be harmful to their noses. Even an elite vampire like Barthelemy could not help but felt shaken if he was thrown garlic without warning.

Feeling his senses had started to return to him, Barthelemy noticed the sound of footsteps behind him. It appeared that Xenovia had found their location.

"Nevertheless…. Even if it's Excalibur, mere fragments of its former glory will not suffice to slay me!" Barthelemy then transformed into a flock of bats again and headed towards Xenovia before the latter could have regroup with Irina.

Xenovia, who was still on her way towards her partner, saw a flock of bats ahead of her. She stopped to guard herself, but the bats simply flew around her, disorienting her sight and hearing. Suddenly, from the flock of bats, a hand shot out and it grabbed a handful amount of Xenovia's long hair. Xenovia lost her balance as her head being yanked without warning, and her feet was swiped off the ground, resulting her to fall on her back.

Xenovia gritted her teeth at the slight pain on her back, when she suddenly saw the vampire had appeared again over her, his blade was aimed to impale her body. She quickly rolled over to avoid, but alas, Barthelemy's blade managed to graze her side, causing Xenovia to hiss in pain as she quickly stood up and swung her Excalibur Destruction, only to be dodged again. At the same time, Xenovia also lightly tossed a round object at the vampire's foot.

Barthelemy blinked at the object near his foot and he was too late to realize Xenovia's smile when the object suddenly flashed a blinding light. It was a custom-made flashbang that was designed to fight vampires. Its blinding light was akin to a miniature sun, vampire's biggest weakness. As Barthelemy grunted while shielding his eyes, he felt his skin was burned as he staggered his steps back.

His blurry vision could barely make out the two exorcists were charging at him with their holy swords ready to cut him. The two combined Excalibur fragments were able to shatter Barthelemy's sword and cut into his flesh. Unfortunately, the vampire was managed to make enough distance to minimize the damage on his body.

"Hnngh….." Barthelemy grunted as he endured the searing pain on his body. Irina and Xenovia were almost out of breath, but they saw a hope to defeat the adversary before them.

"Irina, are you okay?" Xenovia asked as she examined the small cuts littering Irina's body.

"No biggie, they're not bleeding much. What about you?" Irina asked back.

Xenovia grimaced as she pressed her bleeding waist. "….Just a shallow cut." Xenovia said with a deep breath before returning her attention towards the vampire.

Vampires are as vulnerable as devils towards light and holy element. The damage and attack done of holy weapon like holy swords could lead to their demise. Barthelemy at the moment was feeling the Excalibur's holy element was burning his body from the inside. The life essence he got from sucking human blood over the centuries could only heal the physical wound on his body and it would take a while to discharge the holy element that was just like poison from his inside.

However, there was a reason why Barthelemy could survive through the Great War 2,000 years ago.

"It appears that I have underestimated you…" Barthelemy said as he held down the searing pain. "It would only polite if I use my full might from now on." Then Barthelemy straightened his back. "State your names. I am Ba'thelemy de Auguste, the former head of Auguste clan, the vassal of House of Tepes."

Irina and Xenovia stared at the vampire for a second. Acknowledging the chivalry from their enemy, the two stated their names.

"Shidou Irina of Protestant Church."

"Xenovia Quarta of Catholic Church."

Barthelemy nodded at the introductions and he gathered up his magical power to forcefully disperse the holy attribute running through his body. Mists were flowing around him as his power built up. Then, much to the girls' shock, Barthelemy's body transformed into that of a hulking golem around 3-4 meters high, bull-like horns jutting out from his head and his pair of arms turned into a pair of massive blades.

The mist thickened even more and with red flashing eyes, Barthelemy roared at the two exorcists.

 **RAAAAAAARRGH!**

" **The real fight begins now, holy swords wielders!"** Barthelemy declared with booming voice as he swung his blade-arm on horizontal arc at Xenovia and Irina.

The two could feel something was hurling at them, and their survival instinct screamed at them to evade.

"DUCK!" Xenovia yelled out as the two immediately dropped themselves to the ground, as they felt something flew right above their heads, cutting few strands of their hair in the process. When they raised their heads again, they saw behind them that the warehouse and some other giant structures on the harbour had been cut in half.

Their eyes widened at the threat level they were facing, and when they returned their eyes at the vampire, they saw that Barthelemy's figure was slowly disappearing into the mist.

Xenovia and Irina then stood back-to-back, looking around for the vampire to come out. Few minutes later, they felt the air near them shifted, and they looked up to see the monstrous Barthelemy appeared from the mist and swung one of his arms at them.

BLAAR!

The two instinctively leapt away to avoid the arm whose power that was at least comparable with Xenovia's Excalibur Destruction. Debris produced from the destruction shot out towards the two, resulting few bruises and small cuts on their bodies.

"What a power! Is this his true form!?" Irina exclaimed as she regroup again with Xenovia.

' _This guy…. Is strong!'_ Xenovia thought grimly.

Then, the two charged in and they swung their holy swords at Barthelemy, who simply used his blade arms to stop the swords' advances.

""HAAAAA!"" The two girls roared as they poured all of their holy element into their blades, only to be responded by the vampire's own aura.

" **HAAAARRGHH!"** Barthelemy roared as his own aura started to slowly overpower Xenovia and Irina's own.

The two struggled to hold up as holy and dark aura collided to overpower each other, until the two finally used an opening to drop another flash bombs on Barthelemy again.

As the bombs went off, Barthelemy only vanished again into the mist as the light faded out. Thinking that they had dealt some damage on the vampire, Irina and Xenovia let their guard down to let Barthelemy to launch a surprise attack from their side.

Xenovia was startled when she saw Barthelemy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and she barely managed to hold her sword up to block the attack. However, her small frame could not withstand the force behind Barthelemy's giant strength as her body was thrown away into colliding into Irina, causing the two to barrel towards some craters.

"Uugh…." Irina woke up as her body felt like being smashed by a car. "Are you alright, Xenovia?"

Xenovia had it worse as her body felt like being hit by a pick-up truck. "Guh… Yeah, somehow…."

The two got back up to see that Barthelemy was no longer in sight. "Irina, we have to split up. One of us will serve as decoy while the other attack him from his blind spot."

Irina nodded and the two split up not too far to reach each other should the occasion came up. And right on their money, Barthelemy showed up to attack Irina. Xenovia did not waste her chance and quickly lounged at the vampire.

Barthelemy proven his skill as he alternately fought Xenovia and Irina despite the disadvantage his giant frame should have given him. The two exorcists could not find any opening to land a blow as Barthelemy kept parrying their strikes. His body swiftly turned around enough to avoid vital spots.

However, the two were surprised when Barthelemy vanished and suddenly showed up behind Irina.

"Wha-!?" Irina quickly held up her sword in guard as Barthelemy's arm swung and forced her to fly away when the sword made contact.

CLANG!

"Kyaaah!"

After skidding and rolling across the ground, Irina's trembling body slowly got up as she looked incredulously at the vampire. "How…. How did he move that fast with a body that size?"

There was a reason why Barthelemy was known as Barthelemy of the Mist. While vampires in general possess an ability to manipulate fog, Barthelemy had taken the ability into a new height. Normally a vampire had to periodically poured their magic into the fog in order to maintain their cover, and the fog would dissipate when the vampire ran out of magic. However, Barthelemy only needed to pour his magic when he gave the command for the mist to conjure up. The mist itself would never dissipate even without being fed of magic and would only disappear when Barthelemy wished it to be so. In addition, when Barthelemy assumed his true form, he would become one with the mist itself. When Barthelemy released his true power, the mist is his ally and comrade instead of a mere tool like how the other vampires utilizing their mists.

Seeing that they were losing, Xenovia pondered. The enemy was much more formidable than they had thought. Excalibur fragments could only go so far against a vampire on Barthelemy's calibre. Should she use her secret weapon? Could she use it without causing any collateral damage? Were the gamble and the risk worth the success and victory over this vampire?

Xenovia did not realize that she had done a fatal mistake by pondering her options in a battlefield as she was too late to realize that Barthelemy's giant form was already in front of her with his blade raised, ready to cut Xenovia into half.

"XENOVIA!" Irina screamed in fear of her partner's life, and as Barthelemy swung his arm down, time seemed to slow down around Xenovia.

The blue-haired girl's eyes stared widely at the incoming doom as her mind told her that she was going to die. As she closed her eyes tight in fear and regret, something else happened in that short time.

* * *

It all happened so fast in Irina's eyes as her legs gave in. Right before Barthelemy's arm reached Xenovia, a blur suddenly appeared and swiped Xenovia away, resulting the vampire's arm to miss and crushed the ground instead.

Xenovia's eyes remained shut as the girl slowly realized that the expected blow had never arrived. She slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself in someone's arms.

The said someone was a bald man wearing a sweater with 'OPPAI' written on it, and the man's arms were securely braced around Xenovia as he was crouching in front of Irina, who was still processing what just happened.

Can human being move with that kind of speed?

"….Err…. S-Saitama-san…?" Irina stuttered at the sight of Saitama coping Xenovia in his arms.

Saitama only looked at Xenovia's disoriented face before he let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew…. I made it. Gee, these fogs were really making it hard for me to find you two." Saitama then proceeded to put Xenovia seated on the ground before he stood up. "You seemed to be in bad shape, but at least you two are still in one piece…. Oh, well. Just rest up, girls. I'll take over from here."

Saitama then turned around and walked away from Xenovia and Irina, who still could not find any strength in their legs to stand back up, towards Barthelemy who remained watching with intriguing eyes.

" **Who are you? Are you another warrior sent by the Heavens?"**

"Ah… No. Nothing of the sort." Saitama waved off. "I, err…. I'm just a father who is a hero for fun. The name's Saitama."

" **A hero… for fun…?"** Barthelemy tilted his head. **"No matter. For you have introduced yourself, it's only appropriate for me to do the same. I am Ba'thelemy de Auguste, a vampire knight who had been living through millennia, formerly serving the House of Tepes. I set the journey to find the meaning and reason of all lives on this world-"**

"Okay, okay. That's enough."

Barthelemy's speech was interrupted by Saitama, who held his hand up. "How did a simple introduction become a speech about your life? At least make it short and simple in 20 words or less." Saitama said nonchalantly, resulting even more incredulous looks from the girls.

Barthelemy on the other hand, only stared down at Saitama's attitude with small twitch on his eye. However, being a warrior he was, Barthelemy did not dislike someone who did not waste any time in small talk.

" **Very well, then. Now, die!"** Barthelemy roared as he brought both of his blade-arms towards Saitama.

Xenovia and Irina could only gasped in shock at the man's supposedly impeding doom, as Saitama remained impassive at Barthelemy's giant blades making their way towards him. The girls were way too shocked and exhausted to even act accordingly.

"Saitama-san!"

"Look out-!"

However, what happened next blew the girls' minds away.

BOOOOM!

It was supposed to be a simple hit.

A simple right-hand jab from Saitama. However, as soon as baldy's fist made contact with Barthelemy's body, the vampire's upper body was entirely obliterated, as if the body had been fired by a tank canon in point-blank range. Scratch that, even a shot from a tank could not be that powerful.

Not only Saitama's punch destroyed Barthelemy's entire upper-half body, the sheer force from the impact also cleared away the mist enveloping the harbour, making the area became visible like it originally was before the whole battle started. Barthelemy's remaining bottom-half lifelessly fell to the ground before it quickly dissolved away into ashes.

Saitama only nodded, satisfied enough despite of another battle he ended with one punch, since he actually intended to save the two girls in the first place. Then he picked out his cell-phone from his pocket and his eyes widened at the screen.

"Oh, crap! It's almost the time for my flight!" Saitama said in panic. He then looked around and he turned to the girls who were looking at him with plate-sized eyes and their jaws dropped to the ground. "Oh, Irina! Which way is to the airport again?!"

The girls only blinked dumbly at Saitama, before Irina raised her finger to point at one direction. "Ah…. Uh… Err… It would be over there…." Irina's mind was still disoriented from everything that happened.

"Right, thanks! And you girls should go home quickly! Going out this late in those get-ups can make you catch a cold! Goodnight, Irina! Xenorita!"

Saitama shouted his parting words before he dashed away from the area, leaving the two disoriented girls with one question in mind.

"….Irina?" Xenovia did not even bother to regard Saitama mistaking her name.

"…Yes, Xenovia?"

"What on the God's green earth just happened?"

That night was truly unforgettable one for the two female exorcists.

* * *

 **Whew! Finally done! I honestly was having a hard time in writing the whole ordeal with Barthelemy and all. So, what do you guys think? Did I do justice in the battle scenes, characters, and the vampire's ability and all? I honestly don't know what actually happened during the Great War, so the stuff about Barthelemy's flashback was made up. Please tell me what you think of this chapter. And don't bother with the flames. Ahsoei, over and out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dragons and Heroes: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **WARNING: Kind of angst. I do not own High-school DxD nor One-Punch Man.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: It's Not Always Flowers and Rainbows**

" **GYAHAHAHAHA! NOBODY CAN STOP- GAAAHK!"**

The mixture of sound of flesh being torn, bones shattered, and small sonic boom was echoed through the night as Saitama just put an end to another random evil with a single blow of his fist.

The remains of the body of the villain were strangely burned into mots of light that disappeared into the air. The hero then looked at his handiwork one last time before he turned to his hand once again. As he looked at his open palm, his face was unusually remained in its serious expression despite he had finished another job of defeating vile monsters. His eyes then narrowed as he balled his hand into a fist again, then he closed his eyes before opening them again when he turned to look at the destruction laid upon him as he pondered how everything ended up in such catastrophe.

* * *

Everything started when Saitama ended up at one secluded island that only consisted a single village surrounded by nature, far away from the mainland of Japan after he simply travelled around by following the flow. The last time he remembered that he was supposed to be somewhere around Korea, so he had no any idea how he ended up at somewhere in Japan. He knew he was back to Japan as the name of the said island was written in Japanese kanji: Hina-something or another, and he needed sometime to remember the full name after everything had happened. Or perhaps, he would rather forget after everything had happened.

During his stay in the village, Saitama had found that the locals had been feeling uneasy about a certain shrine on the hill, saying that the head-priest of the shrine had been obsessed on a certain research, which was some crap about gaining otherworldly power for the prosperity of the village or something. Sensing that might be another day for him to be a hero, Saitama decided to take a look-around by paying a visit to the shrine. The problem was, Saitama did not know anything about what sort of research or study had been conducted in the said shrine as he did not see anything out of ordinary, sans for the creepy feeling that he felt when he walked pass the priest's study room when the latter was showing him around. However, in the end, Saitama did not find anything else out of ordinary from the said room. The head-priest himself appeared to be kind and hospitable.

That became the biggest blunder Saitama had pulled in his life. Deciding to leave the investigation for another day, Saitama then enjoyed the village's peace until everything went down that night.

* * *

Saitama was sleeping in the room of the inn he was staying at when he suddenly assaulted by a demon-like monster. The attack did not hurt him in the slightest, as Saitama quickly blew the demon away with his punch. However, when Saitama took a look outside, he blinked that everything was in flames. Saitama quickly found that the inn he was at also started to crumble as more of the monsters were roaming around the streets.

Saitama immediately sprung into action as he dispatched the nearest demons in the vicinity as he looked around for any survivor. Much to Saitama's shock, everywhere was in a total pandemonium as people were killed here and there, with many more demon-like monsters were rampaging across the village. The demonic beast had a humanoid appearance with blackened skin and what it appeared to be strange markings on their abdomen. The monsters were either crying or even laughing as they wrecked havoc.

As Saitama trekked through the village while decimating the monsters easily, the hero wondered: how did those monsters manage to cause so much damage in such a short time? They were nowhere to possess any particular form of strength that powerful enough to obliterate a good block of the village in one attack. Saitama also did not feel anything coming before he went to bed that night. It was as if the monsters just appeared from thin air and immediately ran amok before the villagers could have realized what had hit them. Where did those monsters come from? Saitama kept pondering until he ran into a child who he acquainted with not long ago.

"S-Saitama….." The girl, not older than eight, said with shaken voice as tears were flowing from her eyes. "….H-help…. Ugh-! AAAAAAAAHH!"

Before the girl could have said anything else, right before Saitama's eyes, the same markings from the monsters were seen glowing through the girl's clothes on her chest, and something could be seen _crawling_ beneath the child's skin. Letting out agonizing cry, the child's skin began to darken and her body slowly bulged and distorted into a hulking demonic figure, just like the ones Saitama had killed earlier.

The realization came to the man, that the monsters he had taken down along the way were nothing but villagers themselves. That explained it. Who would have thought that they would be attacked, let alone killed by their own friends, by their own neighbours, by their own family? The villagers somehow transformed into monsters and immediately attacked the people who did not actually change.

Saitama then turned his head towards the shrine for a second, who appeared to be unscathed despite the destruction around it. When he turned back to the child who was still in the middle of transforming, Saitama actually felt _hopeless_ for the first time in his life. He had no any idea about what was actually happening to the villagers, he had no idea about how it happened, and he had no idea what he should do to safe the little girl before him. That night, his fist could not help in anyway.

However, Saitama's fist could actually still provide _something_ as the little girl in front of him attempted to spoke with teary eyes that was starting to redden. Her lips trembled and moved, trying to make any coherent words but to no avail, as her voice became too distorted for talking. However, Saitama somehow managed to get what the girl was pleading from him by reading the movement of her lips.

" _Please stop me."_

Saitama's widened his eyes ever so slightly at the girl's selfless request as shadow loomed over his eyes, Saitama closed his eyes for a second before he opened them with what appeared to be conviction and he tightened his fist. There was only one thing he could do.

* * *

After what it seemed to be a gruelling slaughter of a horde of demonic monsters by a single man, Saitama walked through the streets of the now-ruined village. The man's eyes darted around, looking through the ruins of buildings, with some of them were still caught on fire. The sky was still dark, and Saitama's efforts to find any survivor became even harder with lack of visual around.

He knew that his attempt was unlikely to bear any fruit, because when he made his way towards the shrine to confront the source of the chaos, everything he saw was either dead bodies, or those who had transformed into mindless demonic beings. When he finally confronted the head-priest of the shrine, the source of the villager's uneasiness, Saitama learned that whatever came out from the rumoured research was extremely wicked and cursed, and its curse 'infected' the head-priest, turning him into a demon before Saitama quickly put an end to him. When the head-priest was infected, the corruption quickly spread through the whole village, turning those unfortunate enough into those abominations. And according to the short ramblings of the possessed head-priest, those who had transformed completely were beyond help, as their soul had finally succumbed to the curse as well.

oXo

The man then walked by the inn where he stayed at the village. A simple, yet homey inn owned by a family of three; husband and wife with a son. The husband and wife were a couple of caring people while the son was an earnest young man helping his parent's business.

 _That night of the battle, Saitama only found the burned corpses of the married couple while their son was nowhere to be found. Most likely the demon who attacked him in the first place was the young man who got infected by the corruption_.

oXo

Saitama stopped at one ruin as he looked at its destroyed state. He recalled it was the snack-shop where he would visit from time to time. The owner of the shop was apparently the wife of the village-chief who gave Saitama a warm welcome upon the latter's arrival. When Saitama looked at what remained of the owner of the shop and her husband, Saitama closed his eyes as he reluctantly recalled their last moment before his very eyes.

 _In the middle of chaotic night, Saitama was moving as fast as he could to save anyone, only to find empty results so far as he found either dead bodies or monsters. He then stopped by the snack-shop, looking for any possible survivors. Alas, what he found there was a demonic monster with a visage similar to the village chief, its giant clawed-hand was gripping the lifeless corpse of the chief's wife. The monster that was previously the head of the village was raving like a maniac with blood-red eyes and it turned its attention towards Saitama. The monster only mindlessly threw the shop-owner's body away before it immediately lunged towards the impassive-looking man._

oXo

Saitama kept walking as the night went on. Dark clouds had been gathering for quite sometime and the rain fell down soon enough. The man ignored the water dropping on his body, and the said water from the sky kept pouring down, extinguishing the remaining fire from the aftermath. He kept walking, passing the house of the villagers, only for Saitama to confirm that he had failed to save innocent lives as corpses and remains of the demonic beings were littering the ground.

Saitama finally stopped at a ruin that seemed to be larger than most of the buildings in the village. The man looked up at the remains of the building and he recalled that it was an orphanage that used to ask him for favour to take care of the parentless children lived there.

During his first couple of days staying in that village, Saitama ended up taking care and playing with the orphans that consisted children around 7-9 years of age. The man was rather reluctant for the job, but he soon adapted and found himself rather attached to those children, as the youngsters reminded him that his son would be around the same age by the year.

As Saitama trudged through the orphanage complex, once again Saitama was reminded again of his failure from that chaos as he saw the remains of the rest of the children and their caretakers.

 _In the midst of the madness that unfolded, Saitama finally arrived at the orphanage, hoping that he could at least save those unfortunate children. Looking back at one of the children that pleaded for his help earlier before transforming into a monster, Saitama could not help but hope that the other children were not ending up to be like the girl he encountered before._

 _To Saitama's despair, what he saw was the ruined state of the orphanage, and several demonic monsters were feasting over the bodies of the children. One child, a boy, was in the monster's deadly grip when his eyes met with Saitama's. The boy only let out a single tear before he closed his eyes, as blood was also trickling from his mouth. Saitama only spat in righteous fury before he charged._

Saitama then stopped in front of one particular body. It was the boy whose eyes met his for the last time at that night. Saitama remembered again, that not only the boy, but all of the children were absolutely excited and wanted to interact with him when they found out that he was a hero for fun. Saitama honestly expected that the children would soon find his story to be hard to believe and left him alone, but on the contrary, his story only made them excited even more.

The man actually cursed his own forgetfulness by knocking his head several times, as he still had yet to fully remembered all of the children's names. However, he remembered that the boy in front of him passionately said his dream for the future.

" _I'm going to become a hero like you for the sake of this village, my home!"_

Saitama snorted sarcastically at himself. He pondered why he became a hero in the first place as he went on his way. He looked back at the corpses of the children one more time, as he remembered the final moments of the little girl who he was force to kill. Perhaps it was just a hallucination from a wishful thinking to ease up his guilt, but Saitama could have sworn that just when the girl-turned-monster's body was dissipating into the air, her face was contorting a tearful smile that expressed _gratitude_.

* * *

Why did he become a hero again? How did he become a hero again? Saitama pondered those questions as he kept walking on the desolate land. He trained so hard to gain great strength, so powerful that he could end every bad guys and monsters in one punch. He achieved that, and he became what he called himself, 'A Hero for Fun'.

Then again, while he was having 'fun', what does it mean to be a hero itself? Saitama felt that he was a hero, some people also heralded him as a hero, but for what reason? Was it because he could easily stopped all sorts of villain to cause destruction? Perhaps, yes. As far as his heroic career had gone, Saitama had prevented countless loss of lives by defeating those monsters and bad guys from running amok.

But what about saving the innocent lives? Saitama himself actually never gave too much thought about how many lives had perished before he arrived at the scene. Back in his younger years, he sometimes arrived when the damage had been done, perhaps rescuing one or two stragglers before he simply punched the bad guys to the oblivion then went home, washing his gloves and clothes, then waited for another time he needed as a hero again.

That night, Saitama just learned another thing, just after he had been a hero for years, about another meaning of being a hero; and he learned it in a hard way. The village he stayed at was razed to the ground in a blink of an eye, and Saitama was not able to save even a single life.

" _So much for having an overwhelming power."_

Saitama sarcastically chided himself. He learned that in the end, he was just a man with an incredible power of heightened human traits, nothing more. He wondered if he had a scientific intellect like Genos or the kid from Hero Association, or a psychic power like Tatsumaki or Fubuki, things would end up differently.

The rain ceased, followed by the sun slowly peeked over the horizon. Staring at the breaking dawn, Saitama shook his head away from his thoughts as he remembered that there was another thing he needed to do.

As he prepared to give a mass-burial for the lives that had been lost, for once in a long time, the hero for fun found himself was not having fun at all.

* * *

Some time later, after Saitama had left the island, a figure in a cloak was seen standing in the middle of the ruins of the village. The person in the cloak then started walking, exploring the whole area, every house, every building, then he stopped at a pile of burned woods in the middle of an open area. It had been long abandoned, but the person could still catch a faint trace of decaying flesh from the woods. These woods were used to create a huge bonfire for a cremation, to burn a lot amount of corpses. Then the person continued his way until he arrived at the shrine at the hill near the village. He looked up at the ruined state of the shrine, and few strands of silver hair could be seen from the hood of his cloak. Beneath the hood, the lips of the mystery-man turned into a small grin as he vanished into the shrine complex.

* * *

 **And there you have it. Sorry for a short chapter, but as the title suggested, this chapter showed worse days in Saitama's life as a hero. What do you think about my depiction of what Saitama was going through? Did I do justice? No flame, please. Ahsoei, over and out.**


	4. Father's Day Special

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

 **Chapter 4: Father's Day Special**

* * *

 **Hello, folks! Since the place I'm living in currently is celebrating the Father's Day, I've decided to write this special, which is based from the short story, 'Hell Teacher Azazel' from the original Light Novel. Enjoy! R &R! m(_ _)m**

* * *

Once upon a time, Rias Gremory and Asia Argento were captivated at the sight of Issei during his childhood, thus they both experimented a magic that could possibly revert the boy back into his, as the girls called 'adorable', small form. Alas, the experimented failed and the two girls ended up being reverted into children instead of Issei, causing the latter had to go through numerous challenges and battles in order to return both Rias and Asia to the way they were.

However, that was another story in another time. This is the tale of the boy with overpowered father, who ended up getting caught in a certain spell that forced him to relive his childhood again.

* * *

"Hmm, let's see…" Rias looked thoughtfully at the complicated formula before her. The formula was written in form of large magic circle on the floor of her room with Gremory crest on it. Asia was also standing by her King's side since she also agreed of Rias' latest idea of turning Issei's physical appearance into a child.

"It looks good enough, but something was amiss…" Rias furrowed her eyebrows as she racked her brain to figure things out. "Asia, would you like to take a look?" The red hair turned to the blonde, in hope that two minds of magic practitioners could come up with better outcome.

"I'm sorry, buchou-san…. I still can't understand something this complex…" Asia whimpered, but she kept her eyes on the formula nonetheless.

Rias only nodded in understanding in return without saying anything else. She then raised her hand, fiddling with the formula written on the circle to re-trace her work all over again.

Of course, this entire ordeal was kept secret from the others, especially Issei. Even Rias and Asia found their own idea somewhat embarrassing. That was why when Issei suddenly came in to check up on them, the two suddenly freaked out.

"Oh, Asia, and ojou-!" Issei was interrupted with Rias and Asia went panic, the former unconsciously injected too much of her power into the magic circle, causing it to light up.

"Oh, no! Asia, Ise, take cover!" Rias noticed that the magic circle was about to explode due to overload.

"What the-?! Look out!" upon seeing the impeding explosion, Issei lunged into action as he grabbed the two girls, threw them behind him and acted as a shield protecting the two, his body happened to be the closest with the circle.

BOOM!

"KYAAH!"

The explosion occurred, causing the girls to cry in shock and resulting smoke that enveloped the entire room. Rias and Asia coughed out some smoke and dust as the two waited for the smoke to clear up.

"Asia, are you okay?" Rias asked her Bishop while covering her nose and mouth.

"I… I'm fine…" Asia replied while still coughing lightly. "…But what about Ise-san?"

Hearing the worried tone in Asia's voice, Rias also worriedly turned towards the spot where Issei stood earlier. Few moments later, the smoke cleared up. When Rias and Asia managed to regain their vision, they had to blink at what they found.

There was a little boy, seemingly not older than four years old, with familiar brown hair, draped in over-sized clothes, sleeping on the floor of Rias' room.

Rias and Asia proceeded to take a step forward and the two inched closer to have a closer look. When they saw the boy's face, their minds clicked, as they matched the face of the boy before her with the one from the photo album, and their faces brightened.

"It's a success!" Rias cheered, clasping Asia's hands with her own.

"B-but, is Ise-san alright?" Asia could not help but still worried, although there was mirth in her eyes.

Rias then took another check-up on the young boy. "Hmm…. There's a pulse, his breathing is steady, and…. There's no other sign of physical trauma." Rias then felt that the boy groaned softly in his sleep. "And he reacted normally in his sleep. He should be fine." Rias let out a soft sigh of relief, with Asia following suit.

"Well, let's move him from the floor, shall we?" Rias said as she gently took the little Issei up from the floor in her arms.

oXo

"Good grief, Rias… When I heard an explosion from your room, I was really worried." Akeno sighed, her tone was rather scolding at her best friend. Though, she was quite delighted when she caught the sight of the young Issei on the bed.

Currently, all the female of Hyoudou Residence, sans Haruka who was out for shopping with Saitama, had been gathered around Issei's bed and they were explained of what just happened. "…And I didn't expect that Asia-chan was going along with this idea of yours." Akeno took a quick glance at the guilty-looking Asia, who was being comforted by Xenovia by her side.

"Well, I intended to set up this plan into motion for another time…" Rias reasoned, though her expression did not show much remorse of what she had done. "…But since everything had already happened, let's just carry on and see what's gonna happen, okay?"

"While Ise-kun does look adorable here…." Akeno admitted. "…What are we going to tell him when he wakes up? And what are we going to tell Haruka-san and Saitama-san?"

Rias blinked and fell into silence, inwardly berating herself to forget considering such things, especially about the latter. However, before Rias could have come up with any answer, Issei let out another groan as his eyes slowly fluttered open.

The girls' attentions were all fully directed towards the boy who was waking up. Issei got into sitting position, rubbing the sleepiness away from his eyes, and he turned his head around to regard his surroundings.

"…Ise?" Rias started up by calling his name.

When Issei's eyes laid upon the sight of the girls. None of the girls expected that the boy's eyes suddenly filled with… confusion?

"Who are you?" the little Issei simply asked. The girls only blinked in confusion at the unexpected response. The boy frowned a bit, his expression became not-trusting before the boy looked around at the bedroom that seemed unfamiliar to him. "Where am I?"

"Ise-san, are you okay?" Asia inched closer towards the boy, her face was showing genuine concern. But little Issei only flinched as the fear became more visible on his expression.

"Ise, it's us, everyone from Occult Research Club. Don't you recognise us?" Rias pushed on with soft tone.

Issei's frowned only deepened, even the girls caught some tears started to form in his eyes. "Where's my mommy?"

At this point, the girls began to panic at the sight of almost-crying little boy. "I-it's alright! It's alright! Your mom is coming here soon, okay?" Asia tried her best to placate the boy before her with a nervous smile. "We are your friends here."

Seeing that the child Issei was still confused and could not recognise his surroundings, Akeno threw Rias a look that demanded explanation. The latter then put a hand on her chin as she quickly came to a conclusion. "Don't tell me… My spell didn't only revert Ise's physic, but his mind as well?"

Issei began to sob ever so slightly, putting the girls even on higher alert. However, either to their fortune or misfortune, just when the situation seemed to get worse by seconds, another figure entered the room.

"Oh, there you are, girls." Hyoudou Haruka finally came home from her shopping. "What is- Oh, my…" Haruka was interrupted as Issei immediately jumped off the bed, ran to his mother, and hugged his mother's leg.

"MOMMY!"

"Well, hello there…" Haruka bent down and kneeled, her eyes appraising the child before her until she blinked in recognition. "…Ise?"

"Mommy…" Issei only replied meekly and Haruka proceeded to lift her son's body into her arms. She could not believe what just appeared before her eyes, but she just knew that the little child in her arms was none other than her son, Hyoudou Issei.

As Haruka attempted to calm her son down, the woman sent a questioning glance towards the girls, who immediately scooted away, leaving Rias alone. The red hair looked at the girls with a hint of betrayal and she turned towards Haruka, who was still waiting for an answer.

Sweats began to flow on her skin as she tried to find the correct words to explain the current situation. Haruka's expression did not show any sign of anger, but her gaze just gave some unknown pressure on Rias' being. She could not ask her servants to help her this time. After all, everything was all her doing.

However, before anyone could have spoken another word, a new voice was heard. "Haruka, what are those kids doing?" Saitama also came in and appeared beside Haruka. That moment, Saitama's eyes met with Issei's. "Err….. Who's this?"

Saitama then turned towards his wife, who raised her eyebrows and sent a particular look in return, then he turned towards the girls, who were all contorting nervous expressions, then he turned towards the child who was still cradled in Haruka's arms.

The said child only stared at the bald man before him for few seconds before he tilted his head with innocent looks in his eyes; note that the girls were kind of 'cooed' at the sight; and a single word came out from the child's mouth.

"…Daddy?"

It finally hit Saitama like tons of warhead as he recognised the child's appearance. "…Ise?" Saitama asked with incredulous expression.

He really wanted nothing but a clear and proper explanation at that moment.

* * *

"Okay, so let me get my head around this..." Saitama asked with rather impatient tone as he took a seat at the dining table, Rias was sitting in front of him with her head down. "

At the moment, Issei was in the living room, playing with Haruka, while the rest of the girls, now with Yuuto and Gasper invited, Saitama, plus Azazel were gathering in the dining room to discuss about what just happened with Issei.

"You are experimenting some magic that can turn Issei into a child." Saitama began to sum things up while tapping his fingers on the table. Rias nodded in return. "But the magic you came up with ended up making Ise, literally, go back into a child both body and mind?" Rias nodded again.

Saitama only sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. There was nothing he could do at the moment, there was no use of getting angry at the crimson haired girl in front of him.

"Hahahaha! It's rare to see someone on your calibre to mess up a spell, Rias." Azazel laughed when he got a hold of the situation. The said girl only whimpered before throwing a glare at the fallen angel. "Well, in any case, that kind of spell will only last temporarily, so it should be fine, right? Although we should prepare some reversing spell just in case."

Saitama sighed once again and nodded at Azazel's suggestion. "Yeah, we can- No, _you_ can do that." Saitama set his gaze upon Rias. "You started it, you fix it."

Rias only let out a defeated sigh as she reluctantly agreed to prepare the reversing spell.

"But it sure feels weird to have the Ise acting like this." Xenovia put her two cents. "I never thought that, according to Haruka-dono, he used to be shy and timid around strangers other than his mother."

"Ise-senpai in childhood is kind of like Gya-kun…" Koneko quipped in. "…Well, minus the shut-in, cross-dressing and cry-baby part."

"Fueee! Koneko-chan is being mean! I'm not that bad!" Gasper cried out at Koneko's jabs.

"In any case, now that Ise currently doesn't recognise any of us, I believe we should get ourselves acquainted with him again, don't you think?" Akeno said with soft giggles of amusement.

"And this is a good time for you to make up the lost time, isn't that right, Saitama?" Azazel suggested.

Before Saitama could have replied, Haruka suddenly joined the discussion in the dining room, with the child Issei hiding behind her legs, peeking shyly at the people on the dining table, his father included.

"That's a great idea." The woman said. She smiled and gave her husband a knowing look.

Saitama widened his eyes in slight horror when he found the hidden meaning behind his wife's expression. "No, no, no, no…" Saitama stood up from his seat, only to be interrupted by his wife.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes." Haruka immediately turned and cut her husband off.

"But Haruka-!"

"Shht, shht!" Haruka made a snapping gesture with her thumb and forefinger, prompting her husband to say no more. "While Rias-chan is working to find a way to reverse Ise back, you are going to have some quality time with our son."

"But do I really have to?" Saitama honestly just felt terribly awkward, especially when he took a glance at his son, Isei only returned his father's glance with an innocent look.

"Of course, it's your opportunity to make up the lost time all those years ago." Haruka then walked to her husband, "Let's say… If you're able to give our little Ise here a good time…" when the woman was right beside her husband, she inched her head closer to Saitama's and whispered something.

Whatever Haruka whispered to her husband caused the latter to widen his eyes as his face was pale and flustered at the same time, followed with Saitama swallowing a lump.

Haruka then inched away from Saitama's ear and she stared at her husband with rather… sensual look. "So? What do you say?"

Saitama calmed himself for few seconds with several deep breaths. "….Fine, I'll do it."

"That's the spirit." Haruka replied with satisfied tone and she placed a quick peck on her husband's cheek.

When Haruka trudged back to her son, Azazel snickered while nudging Saitama's side with his elbow. "Completely whipped, aren't ya?"

"Shut up." Saitama scowled at the fallen.

"Say, Ise…" Haruka then kneeled again to face her son. "Do you want to spend time with daddy?"

"…Daddy?" Ise tilted his head and turned to look at his father, who looked back with his usual plain expression. After few moments of silence, the child's eyes brightened up and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I want to play with daddy!"

Everyone seemed pleased at Issei's respond, albeit Saitama was slightly reluctant. "Well, you two can play tomorrow, since now is already quite late. Why don't you wash yourself up?" Haruka said to her son, whom nodded obediently in return, then she turned to her husband with pleasant smile. "Dear, if you would?"

Saitama let out a soft breath and rose from his seat. He walked and proceeded to cradle the little Issei into his arms. "Alright, kid. Let's show you the bathroom."

oXo

"Come on, Ise. Stop squirming."

"But daddy, it tickles…"

"Just hold it for a minute, okay?"

The night went quite eventful for everyone in the residence. After Azazel, Yuuto and Gasper took their leave, saying that they would work on something ahead, Saitama and the little Issei were actually having some real quality time as they took their bath together. The child was quite obedient, much to Saitama's pleasant (albeit slightly strange) surprise, as the man had to scrub his son's hair with shampoo, telling Issei to close his eyes when Saitama had to wash the shampoo off from Issei's head, and stopping Issei to play around too much and make a mess in the bathroom.

And when Haruka joined the two in the bathroom that she could have sworn that she was in paradise; when she and her husband were having their usual, washing each other's back routine, Issei eagerly wanted to join as well, resulting with Saitama washing Haruka's hair while Issei washing her back, and vice versa for Saitama's case. The Hyoudou matriarch even considered to thank Rias for the situation she had created.

After everyone had freshened up (of course, the girls went in to use the bath _after_ the family of three), re-introduction was in order. The girls were absolutely ecstatic at the sight of Issei timidly (re)introducing himself to his friends, whom he did not recognize for the time being.

"Alright, now for the bed arrangement. Since I'm responsible for what happened to Ise, it's only natural for me to accompany him in bed." Rias almost shamelessly used the blame that originally had been pinned on her for her advantage to monopolize the child for the night.

"T-that's not fair, buchou-san! I-I also want to sleep with Ise-san!" Asia protested.

"My, my, ufufu… I believe you two should've been grounded for making Ise-kun like this…" Akeno interjected.

(Not) strangely enough, the meeting led to the girls disputing about who would accompany the little Issei sleeping on the bed which he deemed to be too big and uncomfortable for him to sleep on. But in the end, the dispute was concluded soon enough with Issei choosing to sleep with his parents, much to the girls' dismay.

And here they were, the family of three, laid beneath the blanket on their now-queen-sized bed with Issei placed between Saitama and Haruka. The child was sleeping soundly while his parents were looking at him with soft gaze.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Haruka began, her body was laid on her side with one hand supporting her head.

Saitama, who was mirroring his wife's position, only hummed contently while his eyes never left his son's sleeping form.

"You know, Ise wouldn't able to sleep on his own if I wasn't around." Haruka chuckled at the memory of her little son jumping to the bed with her during the bedtime. "And sometimes I would tell him stories about you to lull him to sleep."

"Yeah, I can tell." Saitama replied before he raised his eyebrows when he saw his son moved.

"Oh, my…" Haruka looked in amusement when the little Issei moaned softly and snuggled closer to Saitama in his sleep. "Ufufu, I might get jealous."

"You know what, I probably prefer the old Ise back. This is just weird." Saitama commented, although he did not do anything to put any distance between him and his son.

"But you're glad, aren't you?" Haruka gave a knowing grin, before she leaned forward and captured her husband's lips with her own.

Saitama automatically closed his eyes and leaned forward as well, deepening the lip contact. Haruka felt the corner of her lips twitching upwards as she tilted her head to match her own lips that enveloped Saitama's, she then moved her tongue forward, teasing Saitama's lips, requesting access. The man almost granted his wife the access when he caught his sleeping son at the corner of his eyes. Saitama then backed away, his placed his hand on the side of his wife's face and he softly tugged her head away from his.

"Dammit, woman…" Saitama almost growled at the slightly dazed-looking Haruka. "We have a minor here."

"Good thing that he's asleep, isn't it?" Haruka replied as she smiled coyly before she flicked her husband's forehead. "And language. We have a minor here, remember?"

Saitama then took a deep breath to calm himself before he let his head fell on the soft pillow. "I thought I'm supposed to wake up in the morning tomorrow so I can spend time with Ise."

"Well, someone's eager…" Haruka softly giggled as she laid her head on the pillow as well.

"Goodnight." Saitama grunted and forced himself to sleep, ignoring his wife's further teasing.

Between them, Issei's lips twitched slightly upwards as he enjoyed the warmth in his sleep.

* * *

It was the day when Issei, Saitama and Haruka would spend some quality time together outside (it was decided to be a picnic on the hill at the town's outskirts) while Rias and the others would work on the spell that would return Issei back to normal.

"Little Ise…." Rias let out a long sigh as she slumped her head on the desk of her study room. Currently she had numerous magic tome and papers with intricate writings sprawled on the desk. "Saitama-san and dear mother really lucky… to play with my cute little Ise…."

Asia, who was also in the room as Rias' assistant, whimpered at the thought not being able to spend time with the little boy that she adored.

"You reap what you sow, buchou." Koneko said with straight tone while munching her snacks as usual. The Rook was in the room to make sure that her King did not ditch her task for the sake of 'stalking' the child Issei.

Rias whimpered this time, reluctantly returning to her task on the reversing spell. The work went on a steady pace, as Rias kept coming with new and new equation to the new spell she had been formulating for a while. Things seemed to be looking up in a good way until Akeno came in with a tray of light bites and drinks.

"How's the spell, buchou?" Akeno approached with her usual smile and served the treats to everyone in the room.

"Coming smoothly. If everything goes well, the spell will be ready by tonight or tomorrow morning." Rias replied as she took a quick sip of the drink before returning to the papers and magic tomes.

"I see… Kind of shame that we won't be able to see Ise-kun to be that adorable for long." Akeno let out a soft sigh. "Oh, and by the way… I just received a word from the higher-ups that there was some sighting of giant monster, most likely a stray that had been on the most-wanted list."

"What?!" Rias stood up from her seat, causing some of her papers to fall from the desk. Her expression became serious as well as everyone else. "We need to move, then! Where did the last sighting occur?"

"Perhaps we don't need to worry about it… Even Azazel-sensei agreed about it." Akeno replied, seemingly calm about the ordeal.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked with a small scowl.

"Well…. The thing is, the location where the stray was last sighted was at the very hill where Ise-kun and his parents were having their picnic." Akeno bent down to pick up the papers from the floor.

Everyone blinked, their expressions became calmer as they understood what Akeno was implying. "Well, I guess it should be fine if Saitama-san is there… But shouldn't we take a look if they're completely okay?"

"Yuuto-kun, Gasper-chan and Xenovia-chan had been sent out to take a look. So in the mean time…" Akeno then put all of Rias' papers together and set it again on the desk. "You should finish your job."

Rias became down-casted again with a pout on her face. Seeing the dilemma her King was dealing with, Akeno's smile widened a little bit. "You know, before Haruka-san went along with Ise-kun and Saitama-san this morning, I heard her mentioning something about commemorative video." The Queen's news caused Rias to look up again. "…It's just a wild guess, but I believe by the end of this day, Haruka-san will has some live-recording of little Ise-kun. Sure we can ask her the copies, can't we?" Akeno finished with a knowing smirk.

oXo

Meanwhile, on the hill at the outskirts of the town, Yuuto, Xenovia and Gasper were flying in the air with their devil wings outstretched from their backs. Below them was a giant chimaera-like monster lying down on the green grass, almost half of its body was literally blown away, making his bits and guts splattered across the greenery.

Nearby the monster's carcass, a man with bald head was standing impassively, his smoking fist outstretched. Not far from the man, a woman with brown hair and a little boy with the similar shade of hair were standing, watching the entire spectacle.

Xenovia only let out a breath after she had confirmed of what happened. "See? I told you there's no need to worry about them."

"But there's no harm just in making sure, right?" Yuuto chuckled in return, his eyes. "After all, the current Ise-kun is very vulnerable."

"Hiii…. I forgot that Saitama-san can be so scary…" Gasper could not help but shudder at Saitama's display of strength.

"Anyway, now that things are well, we need to go back to buchou and the others." Yuuto said, turning around in the air towards the direction of the town. "Let's leave those three. After all, this is their day." Yuuto smiled at the family of three below them.

The other two devils conceded with the blonde Knight as they also smiled pleasantly at the sight of little Issei running towards his father. The three then flew back towards the town.

oXo

"Daddy!" Issei ran towards his father and lunged to hug the man. "That was so cool!" The child did not seem to be disturbed in any way despite the gory sight before him.

"Whoa! Easy there, kid." Saitama said as he cradled Issei in his arms and looked back at his handiwork.

On the other hand, Haruka was smiling in amusement with a cam-recorder at hand, taking in the whole ordeal and the interaction between the father and son. She was sitting on a large cloth as the layer to sit on with a picnic basket filled with assortment of foods and drinks.

While the little Issei still had his back on his mother, Haruka then took out a large cue card that seemingly came out of nowhere and showed its contents to her husband. Saitama raised his eyebrows at the words written on the cue card his wife was holding.

 **Lift him up high.**

Saitama sent a look that wanting explanation of why he should do so. In return, his wife only sent a mild glare that refused any question and objection. She even wiggled the cue card to emphasize her orders.

Letting out a soft sigh, Saitama did as he told as he lifted Issei up high, causing the child to laugh. "Ahahaha! So high, daddy!"

Saitama blinked at the sight of his laughing son. Strangely enough, he found playing with his son like this to be… pleasant for some reasons. He then let out a small smile. "Is that so? Then here, go high again~" Saitama repeated the gesture as he took Issei up and down in his arms.

"Ahahahahaha!" Issei laughed ecstatically as Saitama began to twirl around, making Issei felt that he was riding a merry-go-around. "Higher~ higher~!"

As Issei said those words, Saitama then caught his wife giving another command on the cue card.

 **Do as he says. Humour him.**

Saitama narrowed his eyebrows at the new order. _"Seriously, what's with her today?"_ However, the man did as he ordered. "Okay, so you want higher, then get ready, Ise!"

Saitama then lowered his arms, then he swung them upwards. "Here we go!"

The result was, Issei got thrown high to the sky. His body flew so high that both Saitama and Haruka lost sight of him.

Saitama only stared at the sky above him without any worry on his face. Haruka on the other hand…

SMACK!

"Hey!" Saitama yelled as his wife began to smack his head over and over. "Hey, stop- stop it! What's wrong!? I did as you said!"

"Use some common sense, you idiot!" Haruka yelled as she kept smacking her husband. "What kind of game that involves throwing up your son up to the sky!? I swear I won't stop with just a divorce if anything were to happen to Ise!" Haruka's expression was absolutely livid.

"Come on, he's gonna be fine!" Saitama said in his defence before his eyes seemed to catch something. "Wait… Honey, step back. He's coming down, he's coming down." Haruka did as she told with worry spread across her face while Saitama prepared to catch something that was falling from the sky.

Saitama then easily caught his son right back to his hands. While Saitama and Haruka, especially the latter, were worried about their son, Issei was surprisingly, laughing like no tomorrow.

"Ahahahahaha!" Issei's expression was absolutely ecstatic. "Daddy, mommy! It was so cool up there! It was so bright, blue, there were birds everywhere, and there were so many fluffy white things! There's also a giant strange white bird that goes whoosh~!"

Saitama blinked, thinking that the little Issei was most likely talking about the sun, the sky, migrating birds, clouds and a freaking airplane. "…Well, glad that you like it." Saitama said, only to receive another loud smack in the head from his wife.

"Daddy, do it again! Do it again! I wanna do it again!" Issei cheered and goaded his father to repeat the previous stunt.

"No, we are NOT gonna do it again!" Haruka stepped in, putting the 'game' into a stop. "Ise, you're only allowed to fly again in the air once you're older, okay?" Haruka told her son with as much patience as she could muster.

Issei pouted, but of course he could not bring himself to disobey his mother. "…Okay."

"Atta boy." Haruka nodded in satisfaction. "Now, since the view of the hill is ruined…." Haruka took a glance at the monster carcass that was still in the vicinity. "…Let's take our picnic to the local park, instead. Dear, if you'd take care of our stuff?" the woman sent one last glare to her husband, whom immediately scurried away and picked up their picnic basket.

* * *

"Say, Ise." Saitama said, giving little Issei a piggy-ride back home in that evening. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes." Issei replied with beaming smile. He would have replied with more fiery tone if he was not so sleepy from the exhaustion after playing so much with his father that day.

Haruka was walking beside the father and son, making sure that she had recorded every single thing for the duration of the whole picnic in her camera. She was smiling blissfully as she watched event after event in the device.

There was the recording of Issei excitedly cheering and watching Saitama defeating the monster.

The recording of Saitama throwing Issei high to the sky and catching him again.

The recording of the father and son were eating together.

The recording of those two playing ball and having fun together at the park.

And many more.

Half-way through the way back home, little Issei had fallen asleep on Saitama's back. As the couple kept walking, Saitama and his wife soon fell into comfortable silence.

"You did a really great job back there." Haruka started. "Except when you threw Ise high to the sky…"

Saitama only snorted wilfully at his wife's comment. "All's well ends well, so it's fine."

Haruka giggled softly before she walked closer to her husband. She then leaned her head a bit towards Saitama's shoulder. "I'm really grateful for this day."

Saitama blinked as he took a glance at his wife, whose face was indeed saying nothing but gratitude as she stared lovingly towards her sleeping son. "…Yeah, me too." Saitama replied with small smile.

"Do you think Ise will remember of what happened, when he returned to normal?" Haruka asked.

"…Who knows? I don't know anything about magic and stuff like that." Saitama shrugged. "We'll just have to see that for ourselves."

Haruka nodded silently in agreement and they finally arrived at Hyoudou Residence. Upon entering the door, they both were greeted by the girls.

"Welcome home, father and mother." Asia greeted first.

When the girls gathered around the parents, the girls' faces were flustered as they found themselves mesmerizing the sight of little Issei's sleeping face, the child was still latching on Saitama's back.

"Ise, we're home." Haruka gently shook her son to wake him up. The child slowly blinked and opened his eyes and Saitama set him to the ground.

Issei rubbed the sleepiness away from his eyes (which the girls also found the act to be absolutely adorable) and he realised that he was facing everyone else in the house.

"Ise, what do you say when you're back home?" Haruka asked patiently.

Issei immediately straightened himself up and he bowed to the rest of the girls. "I-I'm home!"

It took all of the girls' will power not to glom the little Issei into their arms there and then.

oXo

When everyone was heading to the dining room with Saitama trailing behind them, Rias approached the man and whispered. "I have finished the spell. We can do it right before dinner if you want. It won't take long."

"…Nah." Saitama stared at his son, who was happily talking with Haruka and the rest of the girls. "Let's do that after I put him to bed."

Rias blinked at the answer, but after few seconds, the girl smiled at the good sign. "As you wish, then."

"Say, Rias." Saitama asked. "Will Ise remember of what happened once he returned to normal?"

"Hmm…." Rias gave a thoughtful expression with her fingers tracing her chin. "I can't tell. To be honest, Ise's current state is not what I expected in the first place."

"…I see." Saitama accepted the answer and he joined the others for dinner.

* * *

"Well, this is it." Saitama plopped down to bed with Issei beside him, and his wife next after Issei. "Time to sleep, kid."

"Daddy, tell me a story." The child asked with innocent tone, causing Saitama to blink.

The man then eyed his wife, who only gave him a knowing smile in return. Saitama then looked up in thought. "Hmm…. A story, huh?"

Few seconds later, he let out a soft breath before turning back to his son. "Okay. I… got a hero story. But you have to go to bed after this, okay?"

Issei only nodded enthusiastically, and Saitama now had his son's undivided attention.

Thus, Saitama began his story about a young man with an aspiration to be a hero. Issei listened carefully with his eyes never leaving his father.

Saitama then kept his story, telling his son when the man started to aim to be a hero after saving a kid with funny chin from a monster.

The story went on, to how the man then began to train his physique earnestly to be strong, strong enough to defeat all bad guys with one punch.

How the man also fought various kind of bad guys while kept strengthening his body.

How the man finally achieved the strength he yearned for, at the cost of his hair. Issei laughed at that part.

How the man – now a hero - kept defeating one bad guy after another with a single blow of his fist.

How the hero began to feel bored after countless anti-climactic conflicts, how the man started to question about himself.

How the hero was ended up being scorned and isolated by the people he was supposed to fight for, due to his immense strength and power.

How the hero encountered various individuals that he could call friends.

How the hero had to separate himself from his closest friend in the wake of a battle, leaving the hero alone once again.

How fortunate the hero was, upon walking alone in the foreign place, he encountered someone, a woman, who had taken his heart away and given hers in return.

How the hero finally found something new and even more worth fighting for: a family.

"And then…" Saitama stopped the story when he found that his son had already fallen asleep with serene expression on his face. "Well, he's asleep."

"Good work for today." Haruka quipped with happy face. When Saitama turned at his wife, he saw Haruka was flashing him a loving smile. "I'm really, really happy that I've met you."

Saitama gave an imperceptible smile. "You know that it's supposed to be my line, right?" Saitama said as he turned his gaze back to his son again.

"You know what? Why don't you take Ise back to his room, so the girls can fix him up, and then…" Haruka inched her face closer to her husband's. "We can do what I promised you before, if you're able to give Ise a good time…" Haruka finished with suggestive wink.

Saitama swallowed another lump before he scowled. "Why do I keep staying with such an incorrigible woman like you?"

"Because I'm the wife of a hero, that's why." Haruka simply replied before she planted her lips on Saitama's once again.

oXo

When Rias and Asia woke up in the next morning, the two found Issei, now had returned to his original teenage self, was about to wake up as his eyes were twitching before fluttering open.

"Hmm….." Issei woke up from his bed, lightly massaging his head before he turned to look at his surroundings.

"Ise?"

Rias' voice snapped Issei out of his reverie and he drowsily greeted the girls. "Good morning…"

"Ise-san, how are you feeling?" Asia asked with slightly worried tone.

Issei did not say anything for few seconds before he took a deep breath. "…A bit dizzy, but other than that, I feel fine. What happened?"

"….You don't remember?"

Issei raised his eyebrows at the question. "Well… I only remembered that you two were about to get caught in… Actually, are you two okay? Did you get hurt?"

Rias and Asia's expression significantly softened, the two girls were not sure either to feel relief or disappointment that Issei did not seem to remember the events of yesterday.

"We… We're fine, Ise. Thank you. It seems the blast knocked you harder than we thought, you're asleep for a full day afterwards." Rias gave her Pawn a reassuring smile.

"Wow, seriously?" Issei asked. "Ddraig, can you hear me?"

When Issei made contact with the Welsh Dragon inside him, the dragon's voice answered from his left hand.

 **[Uugh…. That was quite a long sleep. What day is it now?]**

Hearing that the dragon sounded so drowsy, Issei thought that he had enough answer for his question.

* * *

After Issei and the girls had gone out to do their daily activities that morning, Haruka and Saitama were left alone in the dining area. Haruka was washing the dishes in the kitchen while Saitama was drinking the remainder of his morning coffee on the table.

"Say Haruka…" Saitama asked. "Do you know anything about Ise's funny attitude earlier?"

"Hmm…" Haruka, with her smile ever-present, hummed playfully. "Probably it's because he remembers?"

"What?" Saitama turned towards the kitchen with furrowed eyebrows. "But Rias and Asia-chan said that he didn't remember about yesterday."

"You could be so oblivious at times." Haruka retorted with giggles. "Ise was smiling for the entire time whenever you're not looking."

oXo

"Ise, you looked so happy today." Xenovia asked as the Gremory group made their way to Kuoh Academy.

"Hm?" Issei raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Yes, indeed." Akeno interjected. "Is it about what transpired yesterday? Ufufufu…"

"I…. was asleep the whole time yesterday, remember?" Issei averted his gaze nervously and he walked ahead of everyone, making sure that his face was not within their sight.

 _ **[Just admit it, partner…]**_

" _Admit what?"_ Issei replied when the dragon put in his two-cents.

 _ **[You can cut the act. I've seen your memories this morning. So I know that you are definitely, at the very least, starting to vaguely remember of what happened to you yesterday. Because my current host today is the same person of the child who was having the fun of his life with his**_ **daddy** _ **.]**_

When Issei heard that Ddraig was snickering, Issei inwardly growled as blush started to creep up his face. "Just… Shut up."

 _ **[Should I tell everyone else right here and now? They won't give you any rest at once they find out]**_

" _Don't you fucking dare…"_

* * *

 **I know it's late, but…. Happy Father's Day! (^_^)**


	5. Switched (I)

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **Hello again, folks! Before we begin: there are some reviews that asked me about my Gunslinger DxD story. The answers are basically: Well, I still plan to carry it on, but I need to research the Dark Tower lore. I just realized that the concept of Dark Tower is completely different, that it is not likely to completely implement their elements into DxD settings. At least I can only put the concept of the Dark Tower and the Gunslinger. I'm not even sure if I can put the Man in Black in there. That's all I can say for now. Without further ado, R &R and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Switched (I)**

 _Sometimes, people might wonder about several bizarre events or phenomenons that had occurred on the planet. Cases of freak accidents, aberrations, natural disasters, even spirited away. They would ask: why did these things happen?_

 _Some would say that those events were just when life wanted to threw pile of shit at people, some said that it was some act of god for reasons unknown, some would even say that they were karma doing its work._

 _In any case, there was this terrifying aspect of these kind of things… events: they happened in the most unexpected way. They struck like thunder without anyone noticing, and they were not picky about victims - men, women, young, old, strong and weak; everyone is a free game for strange phenomenons to happen. Perhaps it was fate, or someone on a higher plane wanted to play some nasty pranks, this was a story where these… bizarre events happened to fall upon a certain father and son._

* * *

It was Sunday morning when Saitama woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, as he gently removed the body of a woman from on top of him so he could get up from his sleeping position. He yawned as he blinked his sleepiness away, as he noticed where something was off.

The first thing that he noticed was, that he was not in his room. Because his bed did not have a canopy, and was never that big; and secondly, his bedroom did not have this much space, asf far as his eyes could see in the dimly lit room.

Thirdly, he looked down and furrowed his eyes at his torso, then beneath the sheets. Sure he did sleep topless last night, but since when did he change his long sweat-pants into a pair of boxers?

Fourth, which shocked him - when he looked to his sides, he just realised that the body he removed from himself earlier was not Haruka. He froze as he stared at the bundle of crimson locks, an hour-glass figure that probably would make his wife jealous, and a gorgeous sleeping face. Rias Gremory was sleeping next to him as naked as she was born.

He then felt something moved on his other side. He turned to see a familiar golden locks belonging to a girl with noticeable smaller body than Rias. Asia Argento was sleeping soundly as she nuzzled herself closer to him.

Saitama was perplexed beyond belief. What was he doing here? What had he done? Did he just sleep with his son's women? How did he end up in this situation? He only remembered that he went to bed with his wife as usual, and there was nothing else coming to mind.

He then found Rias stirred, and slowly woke up. She rubbed the sleepiness away from her eyes as she looked at him. However, when Saitama expected his daughter-in-law to freak out, what came out of her made him confused. "Good morning, Ise… You're up early."

Saitama blinked. It did not seem that Rias was still drowsy, and had fully awaken, so why did she call him Ise? However, when Saitama was about to scratch his head in confusion, he finally noticed another thing. His fingers were not met with a smooth skin of his bald head, but with something… bushy. He placed his palm on his head, and he could have sworn he was touching a bundle of hair. He tried to tug his 'hair' out, and he found that the said hair was rooted on his scalp - it was not a wig, it was a real hair on his head.

 _Holy shit_.

"Ise…?" Rias grew worried and confused as 'Issei' got up from the bed, and ran towards the bathroom.

When Saitama arrived in front of the mirror, his eyes widened as a saucer when he saw his reflection - a young man around 17-18 years old, with his hair dyed brown. Instead of himself, Saitama was looking at the reflection of his son - Hyoudou Issei.

"...What the fu-?!" his musing was interrupted with a scream that came from the floor below.

oXo

Issei woke up in a panic upon seeing his mother's face instead of Rias when he opened his eyes. Issei was topless, his mother was wearing a nightgown and was hugging his torso. It took everything for him not to yelp in panic as he wrecked through his brain for answers. The only thing he remembered last night was, that he had some great time with Rias and Asia, and fell asleep afterwards. _How the fuck did I end up here?!_

With careful motions, he pried off his mother's arms off him, and got out from the bed. Now that he looked around, he noticed that this was not his bedroom to begin with. Issei took a deep breath to calm himself as he noticed that his boxers had been replaced by a pair of long sweat-pants. That actually ignited another panic, what had happened during the period when he was 'bottomless'?

As he was still wondering of what had happened, he ran his hand through his hair - if there was a hair on his head. He paused his movements when he realised that his hand was touching a smooth skin instead of bundle of hair. He touched his head for few more times to find that there was indeed no hair whatsoever on his hair - that one actually made him panicking for real.

 _Holy shit._

He looked around to see a mirror on the dresser and he quickly ran towards the mirror. When he saw his reflection, his eyes widened in horror. Instead of his own reflection, he was looking at an old man with balding head. Thus, Issei could only do the next course of action.

"AAAAAAGH!" He saw the reflection of his worse fear coming to life.

* * *

"...Okay, let me get my head around this."

After the morning fiasco; Rias, along with all other women of the Hyoudou Residence, were gathering in the living room. Issei and Saitama were sitting next to each other on the two-person couch, while Rias and Haruka - now dressed properly and all, were standing right in front of them with their arms crossed, and the rest of the girls were taking seats surrounding the boys, while sporting various expressions - from mild amusement to incredulity. Ophis on the other hand, was sitting on 'Saitama's' lap, not caring much about the situation as she was munching a plate of cookies.

"Somewhat, somehow, you two found yourselves have… 'swapped bodies' this morning, so _you_..." Rias then pointed at 'Issei'. "...Are Saitama, and you on the other hand…" she then turned to 'Saitama' "...Are Ise. Is that what you're saying?"

Both men glanced at each other for a second before they nodded in unison.

"...Prove it." Haruka gave a skeptical look before she tapped her chin in thought. "...Saitama, tell me what happened during the third night of our honeymoon."

When the girls heard the question and turned to the boys, they saw 'Saitama' was blinking, while 'Issei' was staring at Haruka with deadpanned stare.

"...Really, Haruka?" 'Issei', or should be called, Saitama for the time being, gave his wife a tired glare. "You gotta ask that question of all things?"

Haruka blinked in mild amusement when her 'son' talked back to her. Nevertheless, she did not back down as she merely shrugged with knowing smile.

'Issei'-Saitama sighed as he stood up and walked closer until he was right next to Haruka's ear. He then began whispering something while sporting a slightly flustered face, with Haruka nodded as she heard whatever her husband whispered to her. While the girls were curious of whatever Haruka and 'Issei' were talking about, they knew enough when they saw 'Saitama' was covering his ears, refusing to listen even a fraction of whatever 'his' wife was hearing.

When 'Issei' moved away, Haruka was looking at him with wide eyes. "Well, I'll be damned…" she said. "...Dear, it's… It's really you."

That garnered the looks from everyone else in the room. Rias then turned to 'Saitama', or should be called, Issei. "...Name all the clans of the 72 Pillars, following the order."

'Saitama' blinked and rolled his eyes for a second before he sighed. "...Bael, Agares, Vassago, Gamigin, Marbas, Valefor, Amon, Barbatos, Paimon, Buer, Gusion, Sitri, Beleth, Leraje, Eligos, Zepar, Botis, Bathin, Sallos, Purson, Marax, Ipos, Aim, Naberois, Glasya-Labolas, Bune, Ronove, Berith, Astaroth, Forneus, Foras, Asmoday, Gaap, Furfur, Marchosias, Stolas, Phenex, Halphas, Malphas, Raim, Focalor, Vepar, Sabnock, Shax, Vine, Bifrons, Uvall, Haagenti, Crocell, Furcas, Balam, Alocer, Caim, Murmur, Orobas, Gremory, Ose, Amy, Oriax, Vapula, Zagan, Valac, Andras, Flauros, Andrealphus, Cimerius, Amduscias, Belial, Decarabia, Seere, Dantalion, and… Andromalius." He could give himself a pat on the back for still remembering those subjects.

"That's… correct." Rias, as well as the other girls of Occult Research Club blinked at 'Saitama's' fluid answer. "...Ise, is that really you in there?"

Both men only nodded as they sighed. They then glanced at Ophis, who was staring at them. "...Well?" Issei asked with a raised eyebrow, expecting the Ouroboros to say something - anything in retort. However, the dragon god only hummed as she returned to her treats, leaving the two men staring tiredly at the uncaring dragon.

"Nyahahaha~!" it was Kuroka who was laughing, as she held her gut and flailed her legs around. "This - this is rich! Sounds like it came from some bad fairytale!"

"Awawawa… M-Ms. Kuroka! Please don't laugh like that! This is a serious problem!" Le Fay panically tried to placate the laughing black cat.

Kuroka immediately froze when her eyes met with the glare from the two Hyoudous, as well as the other girls. However, what actually stopped her when she saw Haruka giving the 'look'. "Erm…. Right, sorry-nya." she quickly behaved herself.

"But… But how?" it was Xenovia who spoke up. "I mean, I thought magic doesn't work on them."

"I guess that's the testament of an old saying, 'nothing is truly invincible'." Irina quipped.

"My, my… This is…. Quite peculiar." Akeno said as she eyed between Issei and Saitama.

"Hmm…. Perhaps Ise-kun and Saitama's immunity doesn't apply here…" Rossweisse mused as she was deep in thought. Having her own experience in arcane and mystic arts, the former valkyrie had begun speculating several possibilities. "It might be because of the fact that they are one of a kind, that the magic managed to work…. But to perform this level of mystery that dabbles with human soul… Who could it be…?"

Everyone blinked as some of them did not understand Rossweisse's hypothesis, but if they took her comment at face value, perhaps it was not unfounded. Issei and Saitama began to think of possible suspects.

"You know…" suddenly, Akeno spoke up. "This is just a rumour I heard from my father, but… Azazel would sometimes immerse himself in inventing several shady devices other than artificial Sacred Gears, there are even rumours that one of his side inventions was a device that can swap people's souls…"

Suddenly, everyone felt a soft gust of wind and a second later, Issei and Saitama were out of sight, leaving Ophis snacking alone on the couch. The only thing they heard was distinct footsteps.

"Sometimes I hate it when those two did that…" Rias sighed, followed by the others as well. "Come on, everyone. We have to go after them before they ended up killing Azazel by accident." she then turned to Haruka before leaving. "We'll figure something out, mother." the older woman only nodded as she saw the rest of the girls setting out.

* * *

It was a nice morning when Azazel had finished his breakfast - courtesy of Raynare; who was still working as his faithful assistant/maid. Who would have known that the fallen woman had the knack for housework. As Raynare dutifully cleaned up the plates and the table, Azazel took upon himself to enjoy the morning air with a cup of coffee in hand on the balcony of his mansion.

While enjoying his leisure time, he noticed a trail of dust clouds in the distance, and the next thing he knew, he saw a glimpse of a pair of blood-shot eyes, and suddenly he was pushed far into the interior of his mansion, all the way against the wall. When he came by, a part of the mansion in front of him was ruined, his coffee had disappeared from his hand - no, he just saw the cup with its content in tow, fell and was smoothly caught by 'Issei'; his body was aching all over, and he was looking at a pair of pissed-looking Issei and Saitama - the latter was pressing his arm against his chest, pinning him against the wall. At the corner of his eyes, he could see Raynare, who pressumably had arrived almost immediately to check on what happened, but froze when she landed her eyes on the Hyoudous.

"Err… Good morning, folks?" Azazel sheepishly greeted, not sure of what was happening.

"Don't 'good morning' us, you asshat." 'Issei' growled. "Fix this." the boy gestured at himself and his father before he took a sip of Azazel's coffee.

"You…When did you do this?! If you don't start spilling your beans I swear I will punch you so hard you will see the deceased Biblical God face to face in the next realm." 'Saitama' threatened, with his face looked so agitated, unlike the stoic expression that Azazel usually saw.

"...What?" The fallen angel could only utter that single word, as he was dead confused.

"You. Fix this. Now." 'Issei' repeated, pointing at Azazel, himself and 'Saitama' alternately.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that one." Azazel nodded. "...But, you know… Fix what?"

"Don't play dumb with us, man…" 'Saitama' growled. "We only have so much time for your bullshit."

The fallen angel furrowed his confused eyebrows. "...Look, I don't know what's going on, but I think we are in a grave misunderstanding here. Seriously, what's wrong with you two?" he tried to reason.

'Saitama' was about to say something in return, but 'Issei' placed his free hand on 'Saitama's' shoulder. "...Wait." When the latter turned to the former, 'Issei' shook his head. "...Let's hear him out first. After all, he's our only clue to return back to normal."

"Ise! Saitama-san!" At that moment, Rias and the girls had arrived at the scene. They looked around at the destruction before their eyes landed at the sight of the three men - Issei and Saitama were pinning Azazel against the wall. To be precise, 'Saitama' just released his grip, allowing the fallen angel to step away from the crumbling wall.

"U-um…" It was Asia who spoke as she raised her arm shyly. "...L-let's talk things over in the house, shall we?"

oXo

"Bwahahahaha-!" After learning the situation, Azazel laughed his ass out and he abruptly stopped after receiving a glare from the two Hyoudous. "-Um, Sorry." he cleared his throat. He forgot that they would most probably rip his wings off should he not help them.

Currently, since Azazel's house was under reconstruction, the fallen angel had been taken back to the Hyoudou Residence for further explanation.

"Okay, so…" Azazel asked as he looked between the father and son. "Basically, you two swapped bodies this morning, so Issei is now inside Saitama's body and vice versa." he concluded and receiving several nods in return.

"...And you thought I was the one responsible." Azazel scowled at the Hyoudous, who only shrugged in return.

"In our defence…" Akeno put her two-cents. "It was Baraqiel who told me that you invented some kind of soul-swapping device."

"Well… Baraqiel's not wrong on that account…" Azazel sighed. "...You know what, I might as well testing the baby out while helping you guys out." he then stood up. "Come on, the device is in my workshop."

Everyone soon moved, and few minutes of travelling later, they had arrived at the basement of Azazel's house, which was actually his workshop. They followed the Scapegoat towards a certain large room, seeing a mechanical contraption. The contraption consisted of two human sized cylindrical translucent glass casings, with what seems to be an advanced computer panel at the front.

"...So this is… the thing?" Issei asked as he looked around.

"Yeah, it is. Now both of you pick one room of those tubes. I'll prepare everything and get this over and done with." Azazel said as he gestured Raynare to help him with the preparations. The others only watched the preparations while they would occasionally looked around at the machines and furnitures of the workshop.

Few minutes later, everyone was handed shaded safety goggles, of which Azazel and Raynare were wearing them as well. "Put on those goggles, ladies. Things are gonna a bit too flashy, especially for creatures of the dark." he grinned as he took his position at the computer panel.

"Okay, you two - Ise, Saitama. You guys ready?" Azazel addressed his test subjects.

"Yeah."

"Just get it on!"

Azazel nodded and turned to Raynare, who took the position in front of a lever switch with several meter readers and small screens. "Alright, commencing experiment. Raynare, do the thing!"

The fallen angel woman did as she was told as she pulled the lever down, and everyone started to see sparks and electric current started to fly around the room. "Increasing output to maximum… Raynare, how's the status on your side?" Azazel shouted as his hands were busy hitting the buttons on the keyboard.

"The readings are stable, no anomaly at all, and the power is steadily increasing, m'lord." Raynare dutifully provided as she kept her eyes on the readings.

"Charging power… 30… 50...70…. 90.. 99%..." Azazel kept muttering as he kept tinkering with the machine.

Meanwhile, the sparks and electric current surrounding the glass cases with Issei and Saitama became brighter by each second. The former glanced at the latter, who only shrugged in return. While the spectators honestly felt like they were watching something out of mad-scientist movie - all they could do was only hoping for the best.

The accumulated power - the electricity then suddenly washed inside the glass casing, electrocuting both Issei and Saitama for few seconds.

"Ise!"

"Saitama!"

The spectators could not help but shouted in worry as they watched. Soon, the power died down, and the glass casings were opened while letting out a cloud of smokes, followed by Issei and Saitama stepping out.

Everyone saw Issei and Saitama appeared from the smoke, and the two men tapped their bodies from their heads to torso. Then, when they glanced at each other, their eyes widened before they looked at Azazel.

"It's not working!" both of them shouted in unison.

"I'm still bald!"

"I'm still a kid!"

The two complained, their auras intense and hostile. Azazel sweated as he felt they would murder him if he did not do anything to fix this. "Wait, wait, calm down." the fallen placated. "I never said that the machine is completed, and that this is a test, did I?"

He explained himself as their auras diminished a little. Albeit a little. "Anyway, this is troubling…" Azazel rubbed his chin as he took off his goggles. "If the power from this device isn't enough to turn you two back to normal, I wonder who could possibly pull this off."

"Next question now is, what are we gonna do about them?" Rias was the one to speak. "We can't just leave them like this. Not to mention that tomorrow is a school day." Perhaps school life was not very important considering the problem at hand, but on the other hindsight, assuming that the problem would not be solved anytime soon, Issei's school life might receive negative impact due to low attendance.

"Hmm…" Azazel hummed in thought. "...Well, this is what I have in mind. It's safe to assume that someone is pulling the strings without our knowledge, the identity of the culprit is anyone's guess at this point."

The girls nodded in agreement as they listened to the fallen angel.

"Thus, this is what I suggest; Ise and Saitama should just live each other's lives tomorrow."

"...What?" everyone, especially Issei and Saitama blinked in unison.

"I honestly don't know what the culprit could possibly gain from doing something like this. As far as I'm concerned, Ise and Saitama's strength is on equal term, even their aura is awfully similar." Azazel reasoned.

"I see…. Ise-chin and Saitama-chin's life force do look identical…" Kuroka quipped, as she nodded along with Koneko.

"Thus, I can only assume that the culprit will expect some sort of chaos." Azazel concluded. "And that's the point of what I said, we need to throw off the culprit's expectations. If the culprit is confused, he or she will have to take action, that's when we will learn the culprit's identity."

"Are you sure this plan is going to work?" Rias asked. "This whole thing hinges too much on the culprit itself."

"Well, from what I heard from your stories. We have no other clue or lead to solve this incident." Azazel replied. "The plan we have now is our best bet."

"So, there you have it…." The fallen then turned to Issei and Saitama. "Saitama, you'll go to school tomorrow as Hyoudou Issei, while Ise on the other hand will spend his days as Hyoudou Saitama."

The aforementioned father and son only gave each other uncertain gaze.

"Oh, and make sure that nobody knows about this." Azazel said. "Because we do not know who, and where they might be spying us from."

When the group finally left his manor, Azazel was now sitting in his study, with Raynare by his side, serving another cup of coffee. "Lord Azazel…" the fallen woman spoke.

"...What is it, Raynare?" the Scapegoat replied as he revelled in the scent of his drink.

"Forgive me if I sound rude, but…" Raynare glanced at her master. "...You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

True to her words, Azazel was sporting an amused grin. "...Well, since this is actually not something you can come across every day. I might as well enjoying every single moment of it before it blows over." Azazel laughed as he threw his one arm behind his head, while he took a sip of the coffee with his other, eliciting a sigh from his maid.

* * *

The rest of the day went on without any incident. When night came, however…

"Nya, I'm wondering now…" Kuroka said as everyone wanted to retire for the night. "...Now that Ise-chin is Saitama-chin and vice versa, who's gonna sleep with who, nya?" she said while tapping her chin.

That caused everyone to pause on their track as they glanced at each other, before they turned to Issei and Saitama, who were clad in their respective pyjamas/sleepwear. Noticing this dilemma…none of their brains could come up with a solution. Sleeping with Issei in his father's body felt…wrong in more ways than one, and vice-versa…. At least for most of them.

"Hmm… I guess that's a good question." Xenovia hummed as she was in thought. "But Azazel said that we need to go like normal, right? Then, I don't mind sleeping on the same bed as either Ise or Saitama-dono." she said without batting an eye. "After all, considering the enemy might still be lurking, I have to remain by their side as a Knight of Gremory." she nodded as she believed she was doing the right thing.

Everyone only sweat-dropped at Xenovia's reasoning. Only in that moment everyone wished that they were lacking common sense like the blue-haired Knight - no need to fuss over stuff.

"I also don't mind sleeping with either one of them." Haruka also quipped. "I mean, obviously Saitama is my husband, but I also had my fair share of sleeping on the same bed as Ise when he's still too young to sleep alone. It's not much different than that."

"My, my, ufufu…" Akeno could not help but feel amused on that piece of information. "...I know that Ise-kun is close to his mother, but I never thought he was such a mama's boy in the past." she gave a sultry look at Issei, who was blushing.

"Mom, that was back then. I'm not a kid anymore…" Issei then glanced down at his current body. "...Well, literally not a kid, alright." He adamantly protested, for so many reasons.

"Nya, I don't mind, too! I'll sleep with any of them either way!" Kuroka gleefully cheered, while giving a cheshire smile.

"Ms. Kuroka!" Le Fay admonished with heavily flustered face.

"Now you wait there one moment." Rias stepped up as she put her hands on her waist in authority manner. "While sleeping arrangements need to be addressed, you don't get to be the one to decide who's sleeping with my man."

"But to have Ise-sama in Saitama-sama's body and vice-versa gave me some odd perspective about them…" Ravel rubbed her hands uncomfortably.

"This is confusing…" Asia whined as she looked between Issei and Saitama, with Rossweisse nodded in agreement.

"...And intriguing at the same time." Akeno butt in as she looked between the men with suggestive look.

"...Akeno, please don't go there." Rias gave her Queen a dry glare, which was only returned with a giggle, but the Queen did not push any further.

Kuroka also noted that her little sister was grasping a fistful of her black kimono. "No stealing, nee-sama…"

The black cat only pouted, but she backed down. Issei and Saitama chose to stay quiet as they saw the girls started bickering, and one thing they thought as their eyes glanced at the ever-impassive Ophis was, _"How did things end up like this?"_

All in all, it became quite an argument between the younger girls - Rias, Asia, Akeno, Irina, Ravel, Koneko, Le Fay and Rossweisse - with Haruka, Xenovia, Kuroka and Ophis watching from sidelines, since they had no much qualms about the sleeping arrangements for various reasons; about Issei and Saitama's sleeping arrangements. However, it did not take long to decide that the father and son would sleep in separate quarters from the girls.

Here they were, covered in blankets, head rested on pillows, while sleeping on two separate couches in the living room.

"Dad, you still awake?" Issei asked as he simply laid on his spot, staring at the dark ceilings.

"...What is it?"

"...Have you ever been…. Y'know, hexed like this?"

" _...Hexed?"_ Saitama glanced at his son - trapped in his own body, before he went silent for few seconds and pursed his lips while shaking his head. "...Nope, not that I remember."

A sigh was heard, and Issei finally changed the topic. "Okay, since you're gonna go to school as me tomorrow. I'll go some briefings to you so you won't get in trouble. What say you?"

"...Yeah, sure. That sounds like a good idea, I reckon." Saitama nodded.

However, before Issei could have begun his explanation, he suddenly felt someone was crawling on top of him. When he looked down, he saw Ophis was laying on his torso. The dragon god was clad in purple pyjamas.

"Um… Ophis?" Issei asked. "What are you doing?"

"This, is my spot. Since Haruka is not around." Ophis simply said before she closed her eyes and dozed off.

Issei and Saitama only stared awkwardly at the sleeping dragon god before they glanced at each other. "...Ophis? I think you should get up…" Issei called out, but the dragon god did not answer. "...Ophis?" still no answer. "...I guess she won't wake up."

"...You still want to give me that briefing?" Saitama asked with raised eyebrows.

Issei pondered for few seconds. "...Meh, sure. Okay, when you got to school…"

* * *

Morning came, and everyone was doing their morning rituals.

Issei and Saitama just finished washing themselves and they had to go to their respective rooms to get proper attire - to be precise, Saitama had to go to Issei's room while Issei had to go to his father's.

When Saitama went to his son's room, it was actually the first time he got a proper look around. "Wow, Rias really held nothing back in reconstructing the kid's room." he said as he was impressed with the interior. However, he quickly snapped himself out of it as he began to look for the wardrobe, where the school uniform was stored.

However, there were some issues; there was no furniture whatsoever that hinted that it was something you would store your clothes in ,there were four doors on the walls in total, and all doors that he saw in the room were all looked alike. Saitama scratched his head (it felt so long since he still had hair that it became weird to him) as he walked around the room, appraising the doors one by one.

Fortunately, after looking for few seconds, Saitama managed to notice that there was one difference in one door compared to others, there was no handle, and there was no lock installed. He opened, and he breathed in relief when he saw clothes were being piled and hung around. It was not just a wardrobe, it was more like a huge closet with a mirror attached on one wall as well.

Saitama spotted the uniform easily enough, the white dress-shirt, jacket, trousers, even the red T-shirt that Issei usually wore underneath, were hung in one set. Long story short, Saitama was in front of a mirror, looking at his reflection - his son's appearance in school uniform; Although, with a slight difference: unlike Issei who usually did not button the white shirt, thus revealing the red T-shirt underneath, Saitama chose to button up, showing only a small part of the red T-shirt.

" _Feels like I'm 17 again…"_ Saitama mused, but he quickly banished his thought. Issei's appearance was nowhere even close to his own appearance in his high-school years. Seriously, his son took too much after his wife in terms of looks.

Then, when he stepped out from the closet, he saw someone else entered the room. "Ah, good morning, Ise - Oh, um... I mean, dear father. Have you finished getting ready?" Asia, clad in her usual uniform, walked to approach the man.

"Oh, mornin' Asia." Saitama greeted. At that moment, Rias also went in.

"Good morning, father." Rias greeted. The air between the three was a little bit tense due to the fact that it was not actually Issei whom the girls were talking with.

"Rias." Saitama nodded and decided to light up the atmosphere. "...So, how do I look? Did I pull it off?" he stretched out his arms, letting Rias and Asia to appraise his uniform.

Asia was the first to comment. "It looks good on you, dear father!" she said with earnest smile. Whether it was out of politeness or her genuine thought, Saitama assumed it was the latter, knowing her character.

Rias smiled lightly as she nodded. "You look presentable enough. Tell me, father. How does it feel to be young again?" she asked with her smile grew into a teasing one.

"...Peachy." Saitama replied with a scoff. "Alright. Let's go, you two. I gotta go to school, right?"

The girls only let out a small giggle as they followed Saitama walking out from the room.

oXo

Unlike Saitama, Issei actually found his parents' bedroom to be easier to discern, upon stepping in. A king-sized bed - with simpler design compared to his own, a tv set in front of the bed, a dresser, and two doors on opposing walls which he assumed to be the closets.

He approached one door, opened it and he closed it again as soon as he saw that it actually contained his mother's clothes - the other one, then.

When he stepped inside his father's closet, he got into thinking again, _what does his father usually do every day?_ As far as Issei knew, Saitama would sometimes do some odd-jobs for either Azazel and Sirzechs. But otherwise, _what does he do_?

But looking back at the recent events that had taken place, Issei recalled that Saitama had to take some responsibilities of his actions back in Tartaros, something about working with Alliance to deal with post-war stuff. _Go to Azazel's place, then?_

However, Issei recalled his conversation with Saitama last night. According to his father, if there was no contact from Sirzechs, Grayfia, Azazel or Serafall, that meant there was no job or deals that require his attention.

Issei then finally settled with clothes that were closest to him - a black polo-shirt and a pair of khaki pants. Along the way, he found the infamous red and yellow hero uniform his dad always wear…

Feeling that he still got some time, Issei looked around before he took the suit from the hanger, walked to the mirror and held the suit that it covered his figure in the reflection. After staring at the reflection for few seconds, Issei snorted. He wanted to scoff at his father's sense of fashion, but then again, everyone had their own taste. Who was he to judge? Then again, it might be because his father did not have much and wore it out of necessity and it grew on him.

However, before Issei could have put the suit away, he heard the door was clicked open. Issei turned to see his mother walking in. "Oh, err… It's still Ise, isn't it?" the woman greeted with a smile.

"Mornin', mom." Issei greeted with his father's voice.

"Good morning." Haruka's smile widened as she approached her son. "...Say, what are you up to with that suit?"

Issei paused, unsure how to answer for a second.

"…Just curious." He answered. "Though… one question, why does dad always wear this suit?" He asked.

"That's a good question." Haruka mused. "From what Saitama told me, that suit was a gift, and he's been wearing them since his youth, even before he met me." she sighed in nostalgia. "...In fact, he was wearing that suit during our first encounter. It's just a part of him that makes him…. _Himself_."

Issei hummed as he eyed the yellow jumpsuit in his hand. Few seconds later, Haruka took the suit away as she ushered Issei to move out. "Come on, the others are waiting for you for breakfast."

oXo

The breakfast went without much incident, safe for some occupants of the residence who still needed to adjust themselves with Issei and Saitama's peculiar situation.

Currently, the youngsters(?) were walking together towards Kuoh Academy.

"So, uh…" Saitama asked with his son's voice. "...Anything I should expect from school? I mean, will there be some kind of quiz, or test? Did Ise finish his homework?" he actually forgot to ask his son regarding that part last night.

"Don't worry too much, father." Rias reassured him. "Just act normal, and everything will be fine. Besides, we all here to back you up should things happen. I will make sure to inform Gasper, Yuuto and Sona today about the situation to avoid complications." She still remembered Azazel's instructions about secrecy, but that was why she would tell them in person to prevent any leak.

"Also, I'm pretty sure that there's no test today." Irina provided. "Also, also, Ise-kun have finished the homework. After all, he, me, Asia and Xenovia did it together on Friday night."

The other second-years, the classmates to add - Asia and Xenovia also nodded in confirmation.

"...Okay." Issei simply replied as he continued his trek towards the school with others.

Soon, Saitama began to see more and more youngsters wearing the school uniform appeared along the way, walking at the same direction as his group; and when they walked pass the school gate, Saitama could easily tell that everybody was gazing at his group with… _various_ emotions. Not to mention, he could hear several whispers directed at him, and none of them were good. Then, he actually recalled one of his son's briefings from last night.

 _When you enter the school, expect some attention. Ever since what you did during the parent's day, I've become somewhat infamous on the academy. Not to mention after I've started dating Asia._

"...What's with them? Why are they staring at us?" Saitama still could not help but wonder. He thought it might had something to do with his appearance, but he had made sure that he was dressed appropriately enough, and even made sure that the hair was still dyed brown, without any red streak sticking out.

"Ufufufu, this is a common occurrence every morning, Saitama-san." Akeno whispered. "Just ignore them. You'll get used to this soon enough."

Saitama only hummed, taking Akeno's advice for time being as he resumed his trek. The group then happened to catch up with Sona and Tsubaki, who were walking at slower pace. The duo noticed Rias and her group approaching. "Ah, Rias. Good morning." Sona greeted, Tsubaki nodded from her side.

"Good morning, Sona." Rias smiled at her childhood friend. However, before the others could have given their greetings, Saitama beat them into it.

"Ah, Serafall's sister."

That garnered wide-eyed looks from everyone - especially the girls of Occult Research Club whose expression went slightly panic for a second, while Sona and Tsubaki narrowed their eyes at 'Issei'. There were several whispers around as well.

"Hey, what did Hyoudou just call Sona onee-sama!?"

"...'Sister'? He got some bloody nerve to address kaichou in such manner."

Saitama only blinked, cluelessly looking around at the stares and whispers.

"Saitama-san, Saitama-san!" Irina quickly pulled 'Issei' close enough so she could whisper to him. "She is the student council president in this school, so you need to address her as 'kaichou'!"

Saitama blinked and he looked at Rias' expectant gaze, followed with Sona and Tsubaki's scrutinizing one, and he caught on. "Oh… _Oh!_ " he realized. "Shit, um… Sorry, I mean - G'morning, kaichou." he bowed.

Sona and Tsubaki blinked this time, noticing the oddities about the man and the interaction between him and his friends. The former then sent a questioning glance at Rias, who replied with a look that said 'I will explain later'.

Sona's gaze softened ever so slightly, as she turned her eyes at 'Issei' and fixed her glasses. "Good morning, Hyoudou-san. I'll let you off this time, but please don't forget to address me 'kaichou', at least on the academy grounds."

The greeting exchanges ended as Sona and Tsubaki walked ahead, leaving Rias, 'Issei' and the group. Rias sent a tired look at Saitama, who rubbed his head in return. "...Sorry."

"It's okay. Just… be careful about what you say towards who you're talking to." Rias said as she took a deep breath. "We can't afford to cause a scene, after all."

The others visibly relaxed as well as the whispers gradually died down. As they proceeded to their respective classes, Saitama sighed - the day had barely started and he already had almost screwed it up.

Saitama soon arrived at 'his' class, along with Asia, Irina and Xenovia, after they had split up from the third and first years. Fortunately, he still remembered where Issei sat when he came to visit - not to mention, Xenovia had subtly showed him where his seat was supposed to be. As soon as Saitama had settled on his chair, he was about to take it easy when a pair of male students approached him.

"'Sup/Yo, Ise." both of them greeted at the same time. When Saitama looked up, he was greeted by a bald-looking student and a student wearing a glasses.

 _There are two guys who will greet you first in class, and will probably hang around you for the rest of the day - Matsuda and Motohama. Matsuda is bald and Motohama is the one with glasses. You'll tell the difference easily enough._

"Ah, err…" Saitama was caught off guard for a second, before he quickly cleared his throat to gather himself. "...What's up, you two…. Matsuda, Motohama." he greeted, while on the inside, he was hoping that his greetings came out naturally.

 _Most of the stuff they will talk with you are about either girls, pornography or some sexual harassment. Humour them, but don't get too involved. My reputation is already bad enough as it is by hanging around them. Why am I still friends with them, you ask? Well, it just happened between me and them._

Saitama kept his son's words to his heart as he began to listen to Matsuda and Motohama's ranting about their latest AV. Honestly, he was struggling to keep his dumbfounded expression to surface from… how passionate the two perverts before him.

"What's up, Hyoudou." Saitama blinked when someone else called out to 'him'. This time, the voice sounded feminine. "...I see you're already getting harassed by the two perverts in the morning." he turned to see a bespectacled girl with her brown hair tied up in twin braids over her shoulders.

 _There is another person who will associate with you - a girl named Kiryuu. She wears glasses, hair tied in twin braids, remember those traits. Don't be fooled by her looks or gender, she is just as perverted as Matsuda and Motohama. And keep this in mind - don't ever, ever,_ **ever** _let her eyes staring on your crotch._

"...Hey, Kiryuu." Saitama managed to school his feature as he greeted back. _"Okay, so far so good…"_ Saitama thought as he maintained his poker face. Though little did he know, Issei was not the type who put on a poker face on daily basis.

 _Oh, and if you feel that you're in a pinch, just go to either Asia, Xenovia, Irina or Rossweisse-sensei. They'll back you up._

"...Are you alright, man? You seem…down. Did something happen?" Motohama asked. 'Issei' to them seemed very down today.

"...Am I?" Saitama blinked, inwardly and slightly panicking as he put up a small smile as a front. "I'm just fine. Well, just kind of lazy at the moment. You know, having a Monday and all…" he reasoned, using his high school days as references.

"Wow, I know you're not exactly a model student, but Hyoudou Issei feeling lazy about going to school?" Kiryuu remarked with a teasing cheshire smile. "Asia-chan will be sad to find her boyfriend unmotivated to go to school. Right, Asia-chan?" she called out at the blondie.

"E-eh?" Asia squeaked from being called so suddenly. She darted her eyes between Kiryuu and 'Issei'. She knew that she had to pretend as if the boy in front of her was truly Issei, but the thing was, _she sucked at lying_ …That was just not her nature.

"Err… Um, I-I think so. Dear father- No, I-I mean, Ise-san should be happy about going to school and meet friends…" She forced out a smile.

Kiryuu raised her eyebrows at the stuttering. One thing that Issei forgot to tell his father, that the girl was sharper than she let out. It was a matter of time until she knew something was off.

Fortunately, before things could have escalated any further, the door was opened, revealing the teacher. "Alright, class. Sit down, it's time for the homeroom!"

Everyone then seized their chatter and got to their seats - including Kiryuu, Matsuda and Motohama, much to Saitama's relief. At least it was good that he could avoid potentially unwanted questions.

Thus, the school began as Saitama kept his act as Hyoudou Issei, as the teacher was taking the student's attendance.

* * *

'Saitama' - Issei was found sitting in the living room, lounging while switching through TV channels. Ophis, Kuroka and Le Fay were sitting in the same room, making themselves comfortable. Kuroka was lying on her side, resting her head on her hand as she watched the television with bored expression; and Le Fay was reading the book, with her eyes would occasionally glance at the TV. Ophis was simply making herself comfortable on his lap as she stared impassively at the screen.

It had been some time since his father, Rias and the rest had gone off to school. And Issei was left with nothing much to do. He had helped Haruka cleaning up the dishes, doing laundry, the house was clean…

The said woman just went out to meet up with her friends from the neighbourhood association, and she only asked Issei, Kuroka and Le Fay to watch over the house in her absence.

Well, Ophis, Kuroka and Le Fay could not go out so casually, especially the former two since their status as terrorists had yet to be nulled.

" _I am so bored…_ " Issei thought. He did not know how boring his father's daily routine was. He glanced at the cell-phone right next to him, expecting calls from Azazel, Sirzechs, or Serafall; anything that could give him something to do.

He then decided to put Ophis on the spot next to him so he could stand up, causing the three females in the room to look at him, but the they soon ignored him when they saw him walking towards the kitchen - _probably some snacks._

"Ise-chin…" Kuroka's voice was heard all the way to the kitchen. "Can you grab me some drinks? Anything is fine as long as they're milky, nya~." she ended with a yawn.

"Ise, I want some chips." Ophis also called out from the sofa she was sitting on.

Issei glanced at the direction of the living room, and shrugged at Ophis and Kuroka's request - _sure, why not?_

He then rummaged through the fridge, looking for either milk, iced coffee, or maybe some cream - whatever Kuroka just told him. Then, his eyes blinked in realization - the fridge was actually running out of few stuff.

Issei then nodded at his next course of action. Ophis' chips could wait, going out for a quick shopping was better than doing nothing at home. He quickly grabbed his cellphone and dialed his mother's number.

 **[...Hello?]**

Haruka's voice was heard after few rings.

"Ah… Hey, mom." Issei said. "Look, I want to go shopping to resupply the fridge… Anything you want me to buy?"

 **[...Oh, Ise. Sorry, fufufu… I almost forgot that you're inside your father right now.]**

Haruka chuckled, as if she was confused for a second about the voice of her 'husband'.

 **[But… Yeah, sure. Go ahead, and I don't need anything in particular. Oh, that reminds me… I just met with some old friends from middle-school and they invited me for a lunch together, and I can't refuse, so… Do you mind to fix your own lunch?]**

Issei blinked before answering. "...Yeah, I'm good. Go ahead and have fun. I'll take care of myself." he said with a smile at the phone.

 **[You too, eat something healthy, okay? I love you.]**

"Love you too, mom." Issei then clicked his phone shut. He sighed, now without anything more interesting to do. He wondered how his father could stand this boredom throughout his years as a hero.

He then returned to the living room, addressing Ophis, Kuroka and Le Fay. "Who's up for grabbing something to eat?"

oXo

The bell rung, signifying that it was time for lunch break. As soon as the teacher walked out of the door, the students began to disperse to have their lunches. Saitama sighed as he leaned back on his chair. For him, it was quite a miracle that the teacher never called out to him during the lesson period. Honestly, it had been ages since the last time he attended high-school - all of the subjects had pretty much flown over his head.

Currently, Saitama, Asia, Xenovia and Irina were having lunch on the rooftop. They somehow managed to lose their other classmates before they could have asked them, either to join them or something else.

"...Hm, this is good." Saitama said as he chewed a piece of fish. "...Come to think of it, who made these lunchboxes this morning?"

"It's Asia, per usual." Xenovia nodded with knowing smile. "...Though, Irina is the one who dealt with the veggies. I'm not that cut out enough to cook yet."

"Ise's really lucky to have you." Saitama said as he kept enjoying himself, ignoring Asia's flustered, yet pleasant expression. Irina and Xenovia only smiled in amusement. "...But Irina did a good job as well." Saitama said as he took a bite on a piece of celery, did not notice that Irina's face gained a faint shade of pink as she giggled at the praise.. "...This makes me wonder; does Ise eat his veggies?"

The three girls hummed as they looked back to their memories before it was Xenovia who replied. "I think I recalled that Ise doesn't really like fruits and beans in his salads."

"I guess it's true…" Irina sighed. "I also remember that I found that he did not eat the cherries and nuts I put. Ise-kun shouldn't be picky."

"I guess he's still a brat, huh." Saitama mused. "Gorgeous girls are cooking for him and he did not eat all of them." he said as he also ignored both Asia and Irina's flustered faces.

"...But it's not that I can't relate." Saitama hummed again. "After all, I was also a picky eater when I was still in high-school. Vegetables tasted terrible that time."

"Speaking of which, how do you think of this school so far, dear father?" Asia began a new topic. "How does it compare to your old high-school?"

Saitama looked up as he looked at the edge of the rooftop. Truthfully, his original high-school could not be compared to Kuoh Academy. After all, his high-school was a normal public school, while Kuoh was a private high-school being ran by supernatural creatures.

However, before Saitama could have voiced his thoughts, the door to the rooftop was opened, revealing Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Ravel, Yuuto and Gasper (with paper bag over his head).

"So you all are here." Rias greeted as she walked towards them with the rest; her lunchbox in hand.

"'Sup, everyone." Saitama greeted with a raised hand. He then saw Yuuto and Gasper were staring at him oddly.

"Saitama…-san?" the handsome knight blinked as he hesitantly called him. "...Is that really you?" Gasper wordlessly leaned in closer.

"Good to see you, Kiba." Saitama nodded and turned to the dhampyr. "...Gasper, you err… coming here? I mean, you're fine walking around people?"

"As soon as we heard about what happened, he just could not resist his curiosity." Yuuto chuckled as Gasper sunk back to hide behind him.

"I-I have trained quite a lot after all. I won't get scared so badly this time!" the dhampyr said.

"Hm… That's good for you." Saitama stood up as he lifted up Gasper's paper bag, and he proceeded to pat the dhampyr's platinum blonde hair.

Yuuto and Gasper stared at 'Issei' for a few seconds later, before the former reacted. "Huh… I guess something _is_ different about you. I mean, how did this happen?"

"No clue. Right now Azazel is investigating some stuff while we will go on as usual for the time being." Saitama shrugged. "Besides…. I think this is kind of fun, now that I think about it."

Everyone smiled - perhaps things were fine for now.

"Still…" Rias said as she sat down and opened her lunch. "No offence to you, but I'd like to have Ise back as soon as possible." the others nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Saitama said as he took a sip of his drink. "But for now, let's just see how things go from here." he said as he turned his gaze to a distance.

"...Say, since Ise is now in Saitama-san's body and isn't coming to school, I wonder what he's doing now." Yuuto spoke up, eliciting some looks of understanding from the others as well.

"Hmm… If he doesn't get any calls from either Azazel, Sirzechs or Serafall, I think he won't have nothing much to do…" Saitama mused. "But I think it's gonna be fine. I mean, what's the worst could happen?"

oXo

Issei was walking on the city streets with Ophis (who was donned in more casual clothes), Le Fay and Kuroka in tow. On that note, after several prodings and persuasion, both Issei and Le Fay managed to convince Kuroka to disguise herself. Something about if Kuroka did not want to wear a disguise, she would have to stay at home alone, which she did not want to; because even if she chose to ditch the house, she would have to face the brunt of upset Haruka - and an upset Haruka was downright terrifying.

Unlike Ophis whose appearance was passable enough as a child's, Kuroka's appearance as a woman alone - not to mention her scandalous outfit, could easily attract attentions left and right. Thus, the group was walking with Ophis prepped on Issei's shoulder, and Kuroka took the form of a black cat and was resting on top of Le Fay's head, who was wearing her usual formal-casual suit, minus her cloak and hat. Their current objective was to visit some clothes shop to buy a decent cover for Kuroka if she wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.

When they arrived in front of a building that sells clothes, Kuroka jumped away from Le Fay's head and wandered off somewhere else. "Ah, Ms. Kuroka! Where are you-!?"

"Le Fay."

The mage turned to see Issei pointed at a sign on the door - _no pets are allowed_ ; Le Fay blinked as she understood why Kuroka left. She turned to see Kuroka - in her cat form, nodded at her before she walked somewhere else. It was perhaps due to they have spent time for quite some time, but Le Fay more or less knew that Kuroka said, _"I'll be around here when you get out."_

Issei and the rest finally stepped inside the department store, particularly at women's section. It might be weird to have a man looking around at female clothing, but Le Fay and Ophis' presence helped to have other people to pass it off as 'a man who's looking for clothes for his daughter'.

However, they faced one problem - _what are Kuroka's measurements?_ There were bunch of options, but Issei had no idea which size that could fit in Kuroka's well-endowed figure. As rude as it sounded, Issei could not ask Kuroka herself, since she was not around. "Say, Le Fay… Do you know Kuroka's sizes by any chance?"

"Um… Sorry, Mr. Ise… I don't know. Ms. Kuroka does bath, but she never bothers to get herself a new clothes…." the mage said sheepishly.

"Well, this is troubling." Issei thought as he did not know who else to ask - Ophis could not possibly know, considering her character. Thus, he finally came up with a long-shot.

He took out his phone, and he dialled a certain number.

 **[...Hello.]**

"Oh, dad. Are you free to talk? It's supposed to be lunch time at school, right?"

 **[Yeah, I'm eating with the others right now…. Ise, is this a distress call? Did something happen on your side?]**

"No, no, everything's fine. Though, that reminds me, how are things on _your_ side?"

 **[I manage somehow... Eh? Oh, hang on, kid. Rias wanna speak with you.]**

Issei blinked at the mention of he heard several female voices on the other hand. Then, he heard Rias' voice speaking.

 **[Ise!]**

"Hey, Rias. What's up?" Issei smiled as he heard Rias' voice.

 **[Is everything okay on your side? Anything happened to you?]**

Rias asked with worried tone.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing is happening so far…" Issei placated. "How are things at school? How's my dad doing there?"

 **[Saitama has been doing well enough. I just informed everyone else, including Sona and the Student Council about what happened to avoid confusion.]**

Issei could tell that Rias was smiling on the other end.

 **[...So, why are you calling?]**

"Oh, that's right." Issei blinked, remembering his previous intentions. "Is Koneko-chan there? I wanna talk to her."

 **[...Yeah, sure. Wait a sec.]**

Issei then waited, hearing another muffled voices of the girls from the other end.

 **[...Ise-senpai?]**

Then Koneko's voice was heard.

"Ah, Koneko-chan. How are you doing?" Issei asked with friendly tone.

 **[I'm fine. How about you? Is my sister giving you trouble?]**

The tone in Koneko's voice was rather chipper as she talked to him. Issei started to feel unsure if he should have asked what he wanted to ask. "Nah, Kuroka's not giving me trouble at all. Though, there's something I want to ask you about her…"

On the other end of the line, Koneko's eyebrows furrowed as her instinct suddenly told her that she would not like what Issei was going to ask.

 **[...What is it?]**

"Err…. Do you know Kuroka-san's three sizes?"

The line went silent for few seconds, before Koneko's monotone voice was heard again.

 **[Why do you want to know Kuroka nee-sama's three sizes?]**

Issei was not sure, but he somewhat could tell that Koneko was not amused at all. "Well… I'm currently going out for lunch with Ophis, Kuroka and Le Fay, since mom isn't around to fix lunch at home, and I need to find her some clothes so she can blend in…" he tried to explain as best as he could.

The line went silent for few seconds, as Issei kept waiting for any answer.

 **[...I don't know.]**

"...Eh?" Issei blinked when he heard Koneko's reply.

 **[Ise-senpai, I've been separated from my sister for years. How should I know about her sizes?]**

"...I guess you're right." Issei could not help but concur, though he dug himself an embarrassing grave.

 **[If there's nothing else, then… Bye.]**

"Ah, wait a sec, Koneko-chan-!" before Issei could have said anymore, the line went dead.

Back at academy, Rias asked her Rook. "Koneko, what did Ise talk about with you?" she asked with curious tone, her feelings mutually shared with the others as well.

"...Nothing." Koneko simply said as she continued to wolf down her lunch while ignoring her friends' staring eyes.

Back to Issei again, he was staring at his cellphone, before he sighed. At this point, he might as well went shopping for clothes in blind. Le Fay looked slightly worried, while Ophis remained impassive as ever.

However, Issei suddenly heard a soft whisper behind him. "...Ise-chin."

Le Fay blinked, as she also heard the faint whisper. Unable to see the source, the witch enchanted a spell into her eyes, now seeing Kuroka was standing right behind Issei. "...Ms. Kuroka?!" the mage widened her eyes. It appeared that the nekoshou just put some invisibility spell upon herself.

"Outside is rather boring, so I decided to go after you, nya." Kuroka said with her usual smile. "Seems like you are in rather tough spot."

Issei carefully looked behind him, and stared at the air with half-lidded eyes, exactly where Kuroka was standing. "Well, I guess it's good to have you join us." he said with a smile.

"...You can see me, nya?" Kuroka raised her eyebrows.

"No, not really." Issei said. "But I can more or less know where you are." In a sense, he used all of his other senses, allowing him to perceive her invisible figure. In other words, he could smell her, hear her, even felt the shifts in the air to determine Kuroka's location.

Now that he thought about it - despite his body was not of his own, Issei found his father's body…. To be quite easy to use. He wondered why.

"Huh, I'm not surprised. Anyway, what are you looking from good ol' me, nya?" Kuroka said as she absentmindedly looked around, observing the myriad clothes on display.

"Well…I want to know your three sizes." Issei honestly had no idea of how to word them any other way. Kuroka stood there staring at the child within the bald man in silence. And then stifled a laughter stuck in her throat, snickering away with gleeful abandon.

Issei only gave a deadpanned look with his father's eyes, as he, Ophis and Le Fay waited for Kuroka to calm down.

"Nya…" Kuroka purred as she took a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry, but I never really measured them either…" she looked down at her breasts, which were propped by her arms. "But if you really want to know…." she sent a sultry gaze at Issei. "We can use one of those…'fitting rooms' as the humans call them and you can measure them yourself, nya."

Le Fay's face went red, as she struggled to calm herself down from making a scene by retorting Kuroka's remarks, while Ophis only tilted her head with her face still stoic as usual.

Meanwhile, Issei was struggling to keep the blood from rising up to his face. They might have started on a wrong foot, but during the short interactions, Issei could no longer deny that Kuroka was a fine woman in her own right. He would be lying if her seductive allure did not affect him. After all, Kuroka had been doing a impeccable job in testing his self-control every now and then. The fact that Issei was in his father's body did not help strengthen his will at all.

Noticing that her teasing wrung a small reaction from Issei, Kuroka's smile widened as she wrapped around Issei's arm with her invisible hand, and started running towards the direction of the fitting room… Only for her advance to halt to an abrupt stop.

As soon as Kuroka's hand latched onto his, Issei's instinct kicked in as he stood his ground, wresting his control back from Kuroka's whims. In short, Kuroka was running on spot, futilely trying to pull the immovable Issei to follow her.

Le Fay only sweat-dropped at the antics, since she actually possessed the means to see the entire shenanigans. Issei could feel Kuroka was tugging on his arms, but he simply refused to budge.

When Issei felt no more resistance on his arms, he believed that Kuroka had stopped her advances. However, even with him incapable of seeing Kuroka's face, he could somehow tell that the black cat was frowning at him. Le Fay also visibly relaxed when she saw that Kuroka had stopped whatever she wanted to do with Issei.

"Che… You're no fun, nya." she pouted.

"Sorry, but if you want to tease me or whatever, can you wait at least until I got my body back?" Issei reasoned while giving her a wry smile.

She then huffed and looked around before simply pointed at one display. "Pick that one, then, nya."

Le Fay followed her direction, and she showed Issei of which clothes Kuroka was pointing at. It was a mannequin dressed in a light-blue, slightly frilly blouse with a matching skirt that covered her until her knees, covered with a yellow cream cardigan. The model's feet were covered with a light brown strap shoes with medium heels.

"Hmm…" Issei hummed as he measured up the clothes. "I think it's fine. What do you think, Le Fay?" asking Ophis might be pointless, after all.

"I-I think it will look good on Ms. Kuroka!" Le Fay replied in approval.

It was decided then; Issei and the gang purchased Kuroka's desired clothing and have Kuroka to change (with Le Fay to help her out) in the restroom. And when the girls came out, Issei had to be impressed - Kuroka actually looked good in her current clothes. Even Ophis, who was still latched on his shoulders, actually hummed when she saw her. Although…

"Kuroka, what's with the glasses?" true to Issei's question, while Kuroka had done her hair to hide her feline features, as well as her tail, she was also wearing a pair of purple-framed glasses.

"Just something to add the charm…" Kuroka said before she strode towards Issei, bowing down to show her cleavage that was not covered by her blouse, and with her eyes looking up to him. "...How do I look, nya?" she asked with expectant smile.

Issei was taken aback - the way she asked him was surprisingly _cute_. A red blush accidentally crept up on his face, as he averted his gaze away from Kuroka's appearance. "...Yeah, you look great."

Kuroka giggled at the reaction, then she stepped back. "Well, the shopping actually made me starve. Let's get something to eat, nya!" she made steps towards the shops. Le Fay only giggled in response, while Ophis nodded in agreement, as she tapped on Issei's currently-bald head, causing Issei only sighed good-naturedly, as they followed after the Nekoshou.

The gang continued their walk, and Issei was actually amused when he saw the reactions of Ophis, Le Fay, and especially Kuroka, who had rare interactions with modern human world. Honestly, the three could perform feats human technology can never accomplish, but they were actually marvelled when they rode escalators and elevators first-hand.

Overall, it was a good experience for Kuroka and Le Fay as they would visit some shops every now and then. Even Ophis would occasionally hop off from Issei's shoulder to stare at several merchandises on display or some sweet shops.

However, the group stopped when they ran into a particular individual looking around at a display of a gift-shop. It was a woman with extremely beautiful face, her hair was long blonde with some curly ends and with a voluptuous figure that can put all women on the earth to shame. She was dressed with a white, short-sleeved sun-dress that hugged her body perfectly, wore a pair of matching white heels on her feet, and a white small cap with flower ornament covering her blonde hair. Just by standing alone, the woman, unknown to her knowledge, attracted many stares from passersby by passerby, men and women alike.

However, the most defining trait was the golden aura that was leaking out from her frame, the immense aura that screamed 'kindness' and 'innocence'.

"...Lady Gabriel?" Issei called out as he approached the Seraph Gabriel with Kuroka and Le Fay in tow.

"Nya? Gabriel? You mean, _that_ Gabriel?!"

"...The most beautiful woman in Heaven…"

Kuroka and Le Fay were anxious for two different reasons upon hearing the name; The former was due to fear - after all, what happened when a Stray Devil was faced with one of the most powerful holy beings in Heaven? While the latter was more by amazement - it was not every day one could encounter the most beautiful woman in Heaven.

Ophis remained stoic as usual, as she recognised the angel, but her face showed no reaction.

The Seraph turned as she smiled brightly at the familiar face. "Oh, Saitama-san! How nice to see you today." she greeted pleasantly before she turned to 'Saitama's' companions. "Lord Ophis and Kuroka-san… correct? And who might this be?" the Seraph managed to recognise the dragon god and the nekoshou, but she actually never met Le Fay in person.

Le Fay quickly took upon herself for introduction. "Uh, um… M-my name is Le Fay Pendragon of Vali Team! I-I-It's an honour to meet you, Lady Gabriel!" she stuttered and bowed respectfully before the Seraph.

"Oh, Pendragon…And the White Dragon Emperor's group... I see. The honour is mine, Le Fay-san." Gabriel returned with a smile. Perhaps it was because of her own character, or because she had enough power, but she was not seemed to be bothered at all to interact with wanted fugitives - it was more likely because of the former reason.

"What brings you here?" Issei actually found Gabriel's presence in the human world rather odd.

"Um…" Gabriel then turned slightly bashful for the moment. "This is actually one of my hobbies. I like to visit and look around the human world from time to time… I just happened to come to this town… Come to think of it, this is your hometown, is it not?"

"Yes, yes, it is." Issei nodded as he smiled at the thought. It was not that strange actually, for Gabriel to do something like this every now and then. "Well, we are going to have lunch together. Do you want to join us?"

"Ah, no, no." Gabriel waved her hand lightly. "Thank you for the invitation, but I should not intrude on your plans."

"It's fine, really. I'm the one who's inviting you myself, after all." Issei politely insisted. "Besides, since you are visiting the town, I believe you can use a guide? I know some place that serve some good food around here."

Gabriel hummed cutely as she tapped on her chin in contemplation. While Gabriel was considering Issei's offer, Kuroka whispered into his ear. "...Nya, are you sure about this?"

"...Why not?" Issei quirked an eyebrow.

"I mean, what about your whole current condition and all?" it was Le Fay who spoke this time. "Shouldn't we tell her?"

"I… can't just suddenly tell her, 'hey, I'm actually Issei and I just swapped bodies with my dad'. It's gonna throw her out of loop and ruin her day. Besides, what's the harm of not telling her? Just go with the flow for now." Issei whispered back.

Kuroka furrowed her eyebrows skeptically, but after sharing a glance with Le Fay, she shrugged and the two did not press the issue any further.

"Very well. I will take up on your offer, Saitama-san." Gabriel - oblivious to the secret conversation from earlier, finally gave her answer and she gave a deep bow. "Please take care of me."

Issei smiled at the reply. However, before the group could have proceeded, another voice interrupted them.

"Heh~ That sounds fun. Got room for one more? Saitama-chan~?"

The group turned to see a woman in her late teens with black hair tied into twin-tails and a pair of blue eyes. Let alone Gabriel - Issei, Kuroka and Le Fay did not expect to see the woman in the human world as well.

Serafall Leviathan just entered the scene, sporting a sickly over-sweet smile on her face.

 _To be Continued..._

* * *

 **Omake: Curiosity Kills - You Never Know that Your Parents Have Their Own Secret Stashes.**

Inside his parent's room, Issei - trapped in his father's body, was about to shut his mother's closet close when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something. He paused, leaving the door slightly open, as he narrowed his eyes at the dark space within his mother's dressing room.

He hoped he was only seeing things, and that his instinct was screaming at him not to dwell any further. However, no matter how much he tried to convince himself, the sight of the objects still burned into his eyes despite his countless attempts to blink them away.

In the end, Issei was soon overcome by his own curiosity as he looked around and slowly opened the closet open after making sure that he was alone in the room. So far, Issei saw normal clothings that women wore in general. However, his eyes drifted at the deeper parts of the closet - Haruka's wardrobe was a lot bigger than it looks.

He took the first step, and slowly but surely, walked deep inside the midst of fabric and leather. _Leather?_

When Issei found a switch to the lights inside the compartment, his eyes widened at the sight of… dozens outfits that he saw in the passing, more like when he was forced to watch some of Matsuda and Motohama's 'collection'. In addition, he could have sworn that he saw whips and handcuffs lying around.

Issei could only gaped at the sight, as his mental image of his mother he knew and loved ever since he was a child, shattered as if being punched with the might of the baldy himself.

He could not believe it; just what kind of treatment his current body had received and done in the past, way before his own birth? Imagining it alone sent chills to his very core.

Later, when Haruka was about to enter her room, the door was shot open, revealing 'Saitama' who only glanced at her with a traumatised expression, tears welling in his eyes, before he just ran off. Whatever Issei saw in his mother's closet was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

* * *

 **Special thanks to i4md347h for co-writing!**

 **Well, what do you think? Sorry, it's just this has been sticking on my mind that I find this idea way too funny to be dismissed. The next part is basically more shenanigans ensuing Issei and Saitama who basically would have to live each other's lives for the time being.**

 **Perhaps I did mess up on some characters, especially Ophis since she did not get too much lines. However, considering her character, I can't really think of something for Ophis that won't make her too OOC. Speaking of which, did I do enough justice for the rest? Because there will be part 2, perhaps I can improve somehow.**

 **Overall, please review! Constructive reviews instead of flames, please. Ahsoei, over and out.**

 **P.S. There is a reviewer that asked when I will update the main Legacy story. Well, considering that I plan to deviate from canon, I need to research LN volume 13 until AT LEAST volume 21 before I can make a concrete plan (it's not a hiatus, I assure you). Meanwhile, I will work on Fist Marks and probably my other projects every now and then.**


	6. Switched (II)

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **What's up, everybody. Thank you for the positive reviews for the previous chapter. I'm glad that everyone is interested about the idea I'm implemented between Issei and Saitama. Without further ado, here's the second part! Disclaimer: I own neither of these canon series!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Switched (II)**

It was a bright day with a nice weather when Serafall Leviathan travelled to the human world to spend her break time after some gruelling paperwork in the Underworld. Knowing that it was Monday, there would be no events that required her as Magical Girl Levia-tan, thus she decided to change her pace and wore a light-blue jacket over purple T-shirt with heart-shaped design on the centre, along with white denim shorts, purple-black stripes knee-socks, and white sneakers.

She decided to visit Kuoh for her break time, perhaps she would give her So-tan a surprise visit after grabbing some quick bites. While she tip-toed happily across the streets, enjoying the sight of various human entertainments and development, walking past the populace who would sent glances at her attractive features, interacting with some 'cuties' that caught her fancy, even 'humouring' some men who made futile attempts to hit on her; Serafall caught the sight of several familiar individuals.

The first was a bald man - whose image had been invading her mind as of late, wearing a black polo-shirt with khaki pants, which made him looked kind of different than his usual yellow jump-suit garb; there was Ophis, who was sitting on his shoulders as the man was giving her a piggyback ride; a young girl with blonde hair which Serafall recognised as a member of Vali Team; as well as the black cat Kuroka, whose disguise actually impressed her, although it did not prevent Serafall from recognising the Nekoshou.

" _What is he doing with those three?"_ Serafall wondered as she eyed at the group from the distance. _A group date?_ Very unlikely; Serafall knew Saitama long enough that he would rather die than cheating behind Haruka's back. Serafall was about to approach and greet them when she froze a second away when Saitama greeted a certain Seraph.

 _Why the fuck is that woman there?!_

Gabriel, the Strongest Woman in Heaven, was seen talking with Saitama. Serafall was seething, oblivious to the fact that her aura was leaking and caused the temperature of her surrounding to drop, causing the nearby pedestrians to shiver in cold as they walked past her. Remembering where she was few moments later, the Leviathan calmed herself as she focused her senses in order to eavesdrop on her target's conversation. She caught of something about Saitama inviting the Seraph with that damnable smile of hers for a lunch.

When she realized it, the Prince of Envy had already made her way towards the group. Putting on her best smile, she interrupted the group. "Heh~ That sounds fun. Got room for one more? Saitama-chan~?"

oXo

 _It's…. IT'S THE FRIGGIN' OVERLOORD!_

Those were the thoughts of Issei, Le Fay and Kuroka (with Ophis simply observing) as they gawked at Serafall Leviathan joining the fray. Despite her sweet smile, they definitely noticed the bone-chilling aura that was leaking out of her body.

"Oh my, Serafall-san!" Gabriel happily greeted the female overlord. An angel on her calibre should have been able to notice Serafall's aura, either she did not care or did not notice them at all, the Seraph was _genuinely_ pleased at the sight of her fellow female leader. "It's very nice to see you. How are you today?"

"Oh, it's nice to see you too, indeed." Serafall addressed Gabriel with barely concealed sarcasm in her tone. "I feel _glorious_ today. But anyway, Saitama-chan… Why are you going out with two - no, three members of terrorist group? You know it's still not safe for them to go out."

"...Eh?" Issei blinked when he found the two strongest women of their respective races staring at him, and he recalled the words that Serafall said to him. "Oh! Err, um…" he cleared his throat while schooling his features. "Well… mo- I mean, Haruka is not at home, there's not much food in the house, and… I just can't leave them in the house. It's kind of a waste to spend time indoors in this nice day, no?" Issei reasoned, inwardly praying that he managed to pull off the act.

Serafall stared at him for a minute, before she sighed in resignation. "...I guess it's fine, since Kuoh is mainly under Rias and Sona-chan's jurisdiction… and I should've expected that from you of all people."

Issei held back his sigh of relief, although he was still not sure how he pulled the act off himself.

"But back to my question!" Serafall said. "You said you're going for lunch or something? Mind if I join you guys?"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Gabriel said giddily with her hands clasped together. "I'm sure Saitama-san would love you to join, but let's ask him first." the Seraph and Satan then turned expectantly at 'Saitama'.

Issei blinked once, then twice. Then he finally shrugged. "...Yes, yes. Why not? The more the merrier."

"Great! Lead the way, then." Serafall expression 'brightened', along with Gabriel. Soon, the group was walking on the streets with Issei leading the group. Right behind him were Kuroka and Le Fay, while Ophis remained perched on his shoulders.

A minute later, the situation became somewhat 'unbearable', due to the hostility that leaked out from Serafall's person, directed to the oblivious Gabriel, who was simply smiling as she enjoyed the sight of her surroundings while following behind 'Saitama' and the rest.

Kuroka and Le Fay then caught up with Issei. "Ise-chin, Ise-chin…" the former whispered. "...What's with them, nya? Especially the Leviathan."

"I… am not sure." Issei whispered back. "As far as I know, Lady Serafall hates my dad's guts. And there's a rumour that she sees Gabriel as her biggest rival."

"Nya… So we basically have two powerful women in rivalry, who can destroy several islands with a swing of a hand… Are you sure about bringing those two along, nya?" for someone with Kuroka's personality, for her to voice her worry like this, that was saying something.

"Um… Shouldn't you just tell them now? About your condition?" Le Fay whispered.

"No, not yet. The situation is still salvageable…" Issei whispered back. "Don't forget that Lady Serafall still dislikes my dad. She won't believe my words if I just blurt it out of the blue. It's fine, just keep up the act and the day will end without any incidents…" Issei assured the girls, who only nodded silently.

Thus, the trek to the food place went on with uneasy 'peace'.

* * *

It was after the lunch break at Kuoh Academy, and 'Issei's' class was having P.E. for their next period.

As the students were assembled on the field, Saitama - now clad in gym clothes, noticed that the numbers of the other students seemed to exceed his previous estimation when he arrived. "Say, girls…" Saitama called out to Asia, Irina and Xenovia. "...Don't you think that there are a lot more of other students than I saw in class?"

The girls blinked and they noticed what Saitama was implying. "Oh, that's right. I guess today's P.E. is a joined lesson with other class of 2nd years." Xenovia quipped.

"Hmm… which class is joining us for P.E. again…?" Irina asked as she tapped on her chin in thought.

"Oh, the Occult Research Club members."

The said group turned their heads at the voice and they saw a boy with sandy brown hair and a girl with blue hair - not unlike Xenovia, but she possessed a somewhat handsome face for a girl. Saitama did not know who they were, so he turned his head to Asia, Irina and Xenovia, silently asking about who the newcomers were.

"Ah, Saji-san and Yura-san from Student Council." Xenovia greeted.

The members of Student Council paused when they were facing 'Issei'. Lowering their voices, the boy with sandy hair narrowed his eyes slightly. "We… were already informed by kaichou about… Um… Hyoudou… it's the old man we're talking about here… Right?" he ended up sounding awkward as he addressed Saitama.

"Yep, I'm his dad here." Saitama nodded as he gave a lazy smile. "So, you two are friends of Ise's?"

"...Huh. Okay." Saji blinked and he quickly straightened himself up, with mannerism that had been hammered into him as a member of Student Council as well as a member of Sona Sitri's peerage. "Um, I am Genshirou Saji, a secretary of Kuoh Academy Student Council. Nice to meet you." he personally did not know Saitama, but if what his King and Rias said was true that the one in front of him was actually someone older than him, Saji had enough reason to behave himself.

"Tsubasa Yura. A member of Student Council as well. Nice to meet you, sir." the 'handsome' young woman also introduced herself.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Saitama nodded. "Student Council…. I heard all of them are devils under Serafall's sister, am I right?"

Saji and Tsubasa blinked at how Saitama addressed their president so casually. He did not even spoke her name, as he only knew Sona as Serafall's sister… If Sona were here, she would've been absolutely livid with the man inside Issei.

"While it is true that my master is the little sister of Satan Leviathan…" Saji breathed out in order to keep himself calm. "...Her name is Sona Sitri, our King and the president of Student Council president. Please remember that."

Saitama blinked at Saji's tone, but he nodded nonetheless. "...Okay."

The atmosphere was oddly a little bit tense for everyone else. However, Their attention was soon directed to somewhere else when the teacher who supervise the period blew the whistle.

When all students turned to see their P.E. teacher, they also saw another teacher - a woman with silver hair, clad in bluish grey jersey.

"Oh, Rossweisse-chan is supervising as well!" one of the male students shouted in excitement.

" _Rossweisse?"_ Saitama turned to see… Odin's former secretary turned devil's eyes. She looked pensive for a second before she gave a nod.

The other female teacher beside Rossweisse - the one who was actually in charge in 'Issei's' P.E. class, took the frontline and shouted to the students. "We're going to have a joint P.E. with the class next door, and Rossweisse-sensei will be helping me in looking out for you kids! Be sure not to give her troubles!" the students gave a resounding 'yes'.

"Per usual, all of you will have 10 minutes to stretch and warm-up yourselves! Pick a partner to make teams of two! Begin!"

Then, the students dispersed to do as what the teacher said - Xenovia and Irina immediately paired up, with Asia ended up pairing with Kiryuu. Saji was invited by a random classmate of his, leaving Saitama alone with Tsubasa.

"Um…." the blue-haired girl glanced at 'Issei' awkwardly. "Want to pair up with me… Hyoudou-san?" at any other occasion, Tsubasa would have called him by his given name, but considering the circumstances, she chose to address him by surname - it sounded to be the safest option.

Saitama glanced back for a second before he shrugged. "...Yeah, sure. Let's do this."

As they began to help each other for their warm-ups, Saitama began to hear more whispers around him.

"What! That Hyoudou is now with Tsubasa-chan!"

"Why didn't he partner up with Asia-chan in the first place!?"

"That bastard… He already got Asia-chan as his girlfriend, isn't that enough for him!?"

"Die!"

Saitama only sighed as he tuned out the whispering, although some of them raised some points. He actually was about to ask either Asia, Irina and Xenovia to partner up with him; the latter two he could understand, but why was Asia dragged by that girl with glasses… who was her name again?

"… _Meh_." Saitama no longer cared for now. He would deal with that later on. At the moment, he was having Tsubasa to help him to do the Calf Hamstring stretch, with Tsubasa pushing his back.

Truthfully, unlike other people who would feel stress on their waist, Saitama could stretch his waist and stomach all the way to the floor with relative ease. As his hand reached all the way front, and his upper torso reached the ground, Tsubasa was honestly impressed.

"Wow, Ise-kun really trained his body good, huh?" the girl said as she maintained her touch on the man's back.

"I'm not surprised." Saitama shrugged. Well, he was kind of surprised in a good way - so far,Issei's body did not feel much different than his own. "...Okay, want to switch?"

"Yes, please take care of me, Sai-... Hyoudou-san." Tsubasa nodded as she and Saitama swapped position.

Tsubasa's body was athletic in its own right, as she easily stretched her torso all the way front as Saitama gave gentle pushes. "So, how's my kid at school?" Saitama decided to start a conversation.

"Hmm…. I don't interact much with him, but… as far as the assessment by Student Council goes, Ise-kun is doing well enough at school… If we ignore the bad rumours swirling around…"

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Saitama asked, before he suddenly remembered his son's briefing on the other night. "...Oh."

"Yeah. I believe the rumours all started during parents' day, when Issei was rumoured to claim Rias Gremory-senpai's virginity." Tsubasa confirmed.

"Hmm..." Saitama hummed in thought. He wondered if he should have felt guilty for painting him as a villain from that day… He was not sure, but he certainly did not regret recording Issei's declaration.

"Haha, I see… I don't regret anything from that day to be honest." Saitama said. "Besides, both him and Rias are no longer virgins, anyway."

"...Eh?" Tsubasa blinked as her body froze in the mid of stretching. However, that moment Saitama could have sworn that he heard multiple voices beside Tsubasa's own.

"...You don't know?" Saitama blinked back. "Ise and Rias had done it after the fight with Sairaorg." He wanted to say that the couple in question has 'married' as well, but at the same time, he felt there was no need for that detail.

Hearing this, Tsubasa's body grew stiff as a tree. "Well…. I did hear from kaichou that Ise-kun and Rias-senpai has been engaged for some time…" she whispered, but Saitama could see there was this…. Some kind of defeated smile on her face. "...I guess that's good for them."

"You don't sound too happy about this." Saitama said with slightly narrowed eyes. Tsubasa's eyes looked down on herself, her thoughts and feelings in conflict.

"No, it's not…" Tsubasa denied. "I'm happy for them. I really am." she gave a sad smile.

Saitama eyed the young girl for few seconds, understanding slowly came into his eyes. Being in relationship himself, he could more or less discern when someone held some feelings towards his/her significant other. "...You like Ise, don't you?" Saitama bluntly asked.

Tsubasa flinched, as she looked down, hiding her face from Saitama to see. However, the man could see her visible ears were fuming red. That alone was enough for an answer.

"Well…." Saitama awkwardly scratched 'his' cheek, as he let go of his hand from Tsubasa's back. "There's still… y'know, the harem route?"

Tsubasa blinked as she looked back at the awkward-looking Saitama, before she snorted and muffling her small laughter. "Perhaps, there is. But…" she then smiled in acceptance. "It's just… not gonna work."

Saitama stared at Tsubasa's profile for some time. "...You sure about this?" he asked, and he received a nod from her. Perhaps he would like to encourage her further, but then again, Saitama barely knew her. Her decision was not his business.

After sighing, Saitama then offered his hand. "Well, should we carry on?"

Tsubasa smiled as she took the offered hand and stood up.

* * *

The atmosphere was…. Simply put, _tense_. Issei in his father's body, had finally taken his group - Ophis, Kuroka, Le Fay, Gabriel and Serafall to a certain Chinese restaurant where he and his mother sometimes frequented to. On a round table, with rotating round tray on top, Issei was seated right between Serafall and Gabriel, while Kuroka sat next to Serafall and Le Fay sat next to Gabriel. Ophis herself was sitting between Kuroka and Le Fay - right across Issei.

" _Oh god, I can taste the tension…_ " Issei sweated. Serafall's aura on his left felt like burning ice. Gabriel - being herself, on the other hand, was as radiant as a warm sun. He could understand the Seraph, but the devil king… he was afraid to admit it, but he could not read Serafall at the moment. She was no longer the cheery magical girl he always knew.

Ophis, Le Fay and Kuroka could only watch how Issei was being cornered by the angel and the devil.

Then, as the tense, awkward atmosphere kept going on, their orders were served starting with few cups of tea with the pot provided as well. "Um…. the drinks are here." Le Fay, attempting to lessen the tension, decided to play the peacemaker as she proceeded to reach towards the tea.

"Oh, allow me." Gabriel, being a kind woman she was, immediately reached out for the tea-pot as well, and with Le Fay in tow, the witch then automatically set the cups while the Seraph carefully poured the warm liquid to the cups respectively.

"Here you go, Serafall-san." Gabriel gave the cup to the Satan, while wearing her signature smile. Serafall narrowed her eyes at the cup and at Gabriel, before she took a drink along with a sip without the slightest sign of gratitude - and the Seraph was still smiling as she served everyone else.

The mood did not improve one bit. The main issue was Serafall's hostility towards Gabriel, which made Issei, Kuroka and Le Fay somewhat uncomfortable - except Ophis, who did not care, and Gabriel, who was simply being herself.

Soon, plates of food were served as well, starting with bowls of rice and dishes of appetizers, peanuts and carrot strips dipped in vinegar. Next came the soup, a ordinary creamy mix of white fish meat and vegetables mixed with eggs. After that, came the vegetables, steamed green chinese broccoli on a platter. Then came the sweet and sour pork, the meat glistening caramel from the sauce on the ceramic plate.

"Welp. Let's dig in, shall we?" Issei clapped 'his' hands, attempting to lighten up the mood with food, and everyone proceeded to pick up their respective chopsticks and started digging.

As the lunch went on, so far so good. The food was nice, even Serafall's sour mood had improved as she enjoyed the delicacy before her.

"Saitama, Saitama-san!" Gabriel said with delighted voice after she just swallowed her food. "This is delicious! You should try this one!" She lifted up her chopsticks that were holding a piece of fish mixed with some vegetables, and offered it to 'Saitama'.

"Um… Yeah, glad you like it." Issei could not help but to sweatdrop. Come to think of it, he never told her that he had come to this place before, didn't he? Oh, well.

With the food was shoved to his face, Issei opened his mouth on reflex and glomp the fish, in order to placate the giddy Seraph by humouring her. However, at the same time, he suddenly felt his other side very… cold. He dared himself to glance over his shoulder, and he was greeted by the sight of Serafall glaring at him while biting and chewing her own chopsticks, and he was not sure why.

Then, Serafall whipped her chopsticks - which were still intact somehow, at a particularly rather big piece of broccoli and shoved it at Issei's 'face'. "Say, say, Saitama-chan. This also tastes good, y'know~?"

"Wha-?!"

However, before Issei could have responded properly, Serafall literally had shoved the whole piece of vegetable right into Issei's 'mouth', too deep into his palate for his liking, enough to nearly choke him. He coughed violently trying to expel the broccoli from invading his esophagus.

"Oh dear, Saitama-chan, Are you okay?" Serafall asked with half-genuine-half-mocking tone, as she rubbed her palm on Issei's 'back'. "You should chew your food properly, y'know?"

Issei glanced up, giving a light glare that was mixed with confusion, towards Serafall. Then, he noticed that a cup was offered to him from his other side.

"Here, drink this." Gabriel kindly offered a cup of tea, which Issei gratefully accepted.

"Ah, wait!" Before Issei could have took a sip of his tea, Serafall suddenly interrupted him. "That tea is still too hot, you'll burn your mouth! Here, drink mine! It's cool enough!" Serafall then immediately shoved and forced Issei to chug down the tea - which was actually cool enough. However, what disturbed Issei was how Serafall was uncharacteristically frantic attitude.

" _Seriously, what the hell's her deal!?"_ Issei thought as he barely managed to gulp down the liquid through his throat. "O-okay, I'm fine now, Lady Serafall…"

"...What?"

Issei blinked when Serafall asked the word. "Hm?"

"What did you just call me?"

It took a second for Issei to realize what he just called the Leviathan. _"Crap, dad is not the type who used honorifics, is he?"_

"What, you mean…? I just call you as usual, Serafall. Right, hahaha…" despite the effort, Issei still ended up sounding awkward with his attempt to impersonate his father.

"Pretty sure that you just called me 'lady'..." Serafall then narrowed her eyes. "...That sounds creepy, to be honest."

Issei sweatdropped again at Serafall's reaction. _"Seriously, what's with her!?"_

Meanwhile, Le Fay, Kuroka and Ophis did not say anything as they had various reactions at the spectacle.

" _Ugh…. Is this going to be okay?"_

" _I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, nya?"_

" _...There are bones in my fish."_

When the whole thing settled down few minutes later, everyone resumed their eating. "Say, Saitama-san…" Gabriel then began to engage in a small talk. "How is work in the Underworld?"

"Hm?" Issei blinked, not really catching the sudden question.

"Well… Ever since the unfortunate incident with Lord Hades of Greece, I heard that you are to fill up the gap the Mount Olympus had left, since the Olympian gods have to undergo recovery. I… am actually worried that you would overexert yourself." Gabriel's smile dimmed down somewhat.

"Yeah, tell me about it…" Serafall retorted. "Thanks to the stunt he pulled in Tartaros, now he gotta take everything upon himself. Really, the baldy only know how to make everybody around him worried." for some reason, there was a hint of softness in her sarcastic tone.

Issei and the rest blinked at Serafall's remark, then few seconds later, Serafall's face suddenly flushed in pink. "B-b-but it's not that I'm worried for him or anything! The guy can even take Hades on without a scratch, so what's to worry about? Hahaha!"

Everyone blinked again at Serafall's attitude. Gabriel was simply thinking that the Leviathan was just being herself, nothing more, nothing less. Ophis observed, but could not care less. Le Fay was confused as she could only stare at the flustered Satan, the same could go to Issei, who still could not grasp the meaning behind Serafall's attitude.

No, scratch that. Issei had been in relationship with multiple women, he was not that dense. As twisted and weird as it might sounded, what he and Sona once speculated on that day at the school's rooftop could be true - Serafall Leviathan had some feelings towards Saitama. However, knowing his parents, it was safe to assume that the feeling was likely to be one-sided.

Kuroka, being a sharp woman she was, only covered her cheshire grin with her hand as she silently snickered to herself.

"A-anyway! Aren't we supposed to be eating? Talking while eating is impolite, you know! The food's gonna get cold!" Serafall quickly ended the talk and wolf down whatever was on her plate and the plate in front of her. It was quite a comical sight, really.

Everyone glanced at each other, until they all broke into small giggles and decided to carry on with their lunch. Soon enough, the plates were emptied, and all of them were preparing to leave.

However, there was one more problem as all of them were huddled at the cashier - Serafall, Gabriel and Issei standing before a small piece of paper; _who was going to pay the bill?_

"Ah, please, allow me." Gabriel promptly shoved her hand inside her purse.

"No, no, I'm the one who suddenly barged in, so I'll cover the tab." Serafall grabbed Gabriel's arm - with the strength befitting her position, as she picked out her own wallet.

"Please, I believe this is your break time from work, no?" Gabriel reasoned with genuine concern. "So do just enjoy your time, I shall pay for our expenses." she tugged her arm - with an equal strength as Serafall's so she could reach for her wallet again.

"No, seriously." Serafall interjected as she did not want to relent. "I did hear that you are currently a tourist here, right? This is my sister's territory, so in extension, mine as well, so allow me to be a good host." she gave a too-sweet smile.

"Oh, but I insist." Gabriel replied. "Saitama had been more than kind enough for inviting me. This is the least I can do to repay him."

Issei glanced around, thinking that the situation would be got out of hand if left unattended; thus he raised his hand. "Um…"

"Piss off, baldy!" Serafall barked - her expression contorted into fury before returning into her polite smile in a split second when she returned to address Gabriel again.

"My, Serafall-san. That's quite rude of you. Saitama-san wanted to say something." Gabriel interjected.

"Nah, he probably wants to offer paying the tab as well, am I right?" Serafall glanced at 'Saitama'.

"Err… Yeah, right!" Issei nodded. "I mean, it's only right for the man to pay for the ladies' expenses." he reasoned.

"Much appreciated, Saitama-san." Gabriel replied earnestly. "But please, I can't just take advantage of your kindness."

As the three kept bickering of who would pay for the food - Kuroka, Le Fay and Ophis could only watch from the side. "...We're not gonna get out of here for some time, are we, nya?" the black cat whispered to her companion, who only whimpered in resignation.

* * *

Back at Kuoh Academy, the P.E. for 'Issei's' class was having a game of baseball with mixtures of players between two classrooms. As the team division had been made, Saitama fortunately ended up in the same team as the girls - Asia, Xenovia, Irina, as well as Saji.

"Say, Saitama-san…" Irina whispered as she and the rest were lining up. "...Have you played baseball before?"

"I played it once in high-school…" Saitama replied. "...Ages ago, but I still remember the rules."

"Hm, I guess that's fine." Irina said with a small sigh of relief.

"So… How are we doing this? Are we doing this like…. Y'know, normal?" Saitama asked.

"Hmm… That's a good question." Xenovia replied this time. "From what I recall, almost every student body know that Ise is kind of invincible at sports. Most likely, I think you'll be placed on the very last turn. So you don't have to worry about going out there."

"Hn…" Saitama nodded as the teacher supervisor announced before the students.

"For today's game, the turn for batters will be decided by lot! The attacking team, please line up and draw the lot!"

The students complied, and after everyone had drawn their number, Saitama just happened to get the first turn to hit the ball; eliciting several groans from opposing team.

"Aw, seriously!? Hyoudou got the first turn?!"

"The attacking team's gonna have a lead in the early game…"

"No, this is not necessarily bad. If Hyoudou got the first turn, then we only have to weather this round, and the rest won't be too difficult. It's too early to give up!"

The last line managed to keep the game going, although Saitama was rather impressed at his son's image at academic sports. Nevertheless, when he was about to take his position, he was halted as Asia tugged on his sleeves. "Hm, what is it, Asia?"

"Um… Please keep it together." the blondie meekly said. Saitama blinked for a second, and soon caught of what she was implying - _do not do anything that attract attention_.

" _Okay… Play it cool…"_ Saitama took a deep breath as he took up the bat and got into position.

Few minutes later, once all players had taken their positions on the field, the supervisor then announced the beginning of the game. "Play ball!"

The opponent's teacher, a male student with medium-height and toned arms, narrowed his eyes at 'Issei's' posture. He knew that the guy before him could make a home-run, however… _"This might be too early, and I feel bad for Asia-chan, but… Let's scare him a bit."_ the pitcher's lips twitched into a mischievous smirk.

The pitcher then positioned his feet, flexing his arms for few times, before he took the pitching stance. Then, with all his strength, he threw the ball - the white blur shot through the air right towards Saitama's 'face'.

"Ah, watch out!" The students - particularly Asia, Xenovia, Irina and Saji cried out of reflex as they widened their eyes at the ball shooting towards the batter's face. However, much to everyone's bewilderment, 'Issei' did not move an inch from his spot, as his eyes remained glued at the incoming ball.

"Wha-!? He's not dodging!? Is he mental!?" the pitcher said in disbelief.

CRACK!

The ball hit the mark - right in Saitama's 'face', and dropped to the ground. In normal circumstances, the impact of the ball was enough to knock someone out, even enough to break the nose and possibly the facial bones. The whole field went into complete silence, as some students would either cringe or avert their eyes, unable to bear to watch the seemingly painful scene.

The teacher was the first to recover after few long minutes. "Err… Hyoudou-kun, are you okay?"

'Issei' merely relaxed his posture and turned to his teacher - there was not even a single scratch or bruise on his features. "Um… Yeah… Yeah, I'm good." he rubbed his nose to be more convincing somehow. "But anyway… That one was a dead-ball, right?"

"Huh?" The teacher blinked, and she blinked as her mind sort of 'rebooted'. "Oh… Oh, yeah, it was…"

Saitama nodded as he was now allowed to secure a base for his own. As he began to jog in steady pace, he felt pleased with himself. _"Okay, okay… I managed to pull it off. That wasn't so bad."_

Unknown to him, every student was looking at him with incredulous expression - especially the pitcher who was gawking at him. "...What the fuck…?"

On the bench; Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Saji - even Rossweisse, who was in charge of noting down the scores etc., were having apprehensive looks on their faces.

"Oh, shit... Is this gonna be okay?" Saji could not help but worry of how things going to end up.

The girls were on similar page, although they were more worried about how Saitama ended up looking too 'unnatural' for his own good.

"Somehow I'm not surprised. As expected of Saitama-dono." Xenovia nodded.

"Err… Xenovia, I know you're impressed and all, but I don't think that's the main concern at the moment." Irina quipped.

"Oh… I hope everything is going to be alright…" Asia whimpered as she prayed with everything she had.

Rossweisse could only take a deep breath to calm her nerves down.

 _This is going to be a long day_.

oXo

The game went on, and this time, Saitama's team was the defender, and Rossweisse served as the referee at the home base. Saitama was placed at the very edge of the field, something about him as a countermeasure for a home-run, which was actually rather unlikely - hell, not even the ball flew to his direction. Thus, as the next inning began, Saitama only watched for most of the time.

He watched as Saji served as a pitcher, Tsubasa as the batter of the opposing team, Irina, Xenovia and Asia were positioned at different parts of the field. Saitama snorted and smiled in amusement as he saw Asia was struggling - frantically trying to catch any incoming ball, with Xenovia and Irina covering for her from time to time.

Strikes were counted, balls were hit, and Rossweisse dutifully called out 'safe' and 'out'.

Then, when another sound of the bat hitting the ball was heard, Saitama blinked when he saw that the ball _finally_ flew to his way.

Back to the field, the players, the attacking team, were cheering in triumph as the others runners on the field began to run to their next respective bases, confident that they got this in the bag. After all, the ball might not be a home run, but it was still a centre high to the edge of the field.

Meanwhile, Saitama was about to get tired of boredom. When he saw the ball coming towards his direction, he ended up being glad to finally have something to do. In normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible for one player to catch the ball with that height and velocity. However, Saitama was far from normal.

He simply leapt up from the ground vertically, extended his gloved hand and swiftly caught the air-borne ball, garnering more reactions from his peers - 'Issei' just easily jumped for roughly five meter-tall.

Those in the know had various exasperated reactions; Rossweisse face-palmed, Saji and Tsubasa silently groaned, while the church trio only sighed at the sight of Saitama showing something unusual for a high-school student again.

Issei landed, and he soon scanned over the baseball field. He saw the catcher, with Rossweisse standing behind him; all of them were sporting bewildered look. Ignoring the looks, Saitama narrowed his eyes slightly at his target - the catcher, the one that is the furthest from him, and there was a runner near the home-base.

What happened when someone who had not played baseball in _ages_ \- while he was not someone who immersed himself into the sport to add, attempted to throw a ball in long-range?

Even a veteran would be out of practice and would miss the mark on the first re-try. As Saitama mustered enough strength - enough to make it far, but not enough to damage a person's body; everyone had snapped out of their stupor when they saw 'Issei' cocked his hand back, and proceeded to continue what they were doing; defenders and catchers prepared to intercept any incoming ball, while the runners quickly got into running again.

However, when the ball escaped Saitama's hand, what was intended as a fast ball straight to the catcher had become a curved ball flying towards the unsuspected Rossweisse.

CRACK!

"ROSSWEISSE-CHAN/SENSEI!"

"Oh, shit…!" Saitama cursed himself as the ball he threw landed square on Rossweisse's face. The former Valkyrie jerked backward and her body unceremoniously fell to the ground.

Almost every student - mostly boys were already on Rossweisse's fallen form. Saitama himself had already made his way towards her with the gym teacher examining her. "...She's okay. She's just unconscious."

The silver-haired woman was sporting a red bruise on her face, particularly on her nose, but it seemed nothing worse occurred - thanks to her Rook trait.

Everyone else then sighed in relief. Then, they immediately turned to glare at 'Issei'. "Hyoudou! What the hell's with that curve ball, man!?" one boy shouted at the brown-haired youth.

"Um…. I'm sorry about that." Saitama bowed down while rubbing his 'head'. "I'm not really good at this. Sorry again."

"Sorry!? You knocked out our Rossweisse-sensei! How dare you?! Piss off!"

"""Piss off!"""

"""Piss off!"""

"""Piss off!"""

The boys shouted in an enraged uproar, chanting for 'Issei's' penance. Saitama only sweatdropped at their mob mentality, their actions reminded him of a certain event after the Dragon-class Meteor incident. He still remembered the angry mobs chanting his resignation as a hero, though he already forgot the names of the two heroes that tried to diss him.

While the guys were busy 'throttling' 'Issei', the gym teacher broke the tension. "Alright, everyone! Pipe down!" she clapped her hands few times. "Hyoudou, be a good gentleman and take Rossweisse-sensei to infirmary, would you?" she turned to 'Issei' with a look that demanded no objection.

"...Okay." Saitama said as he gave a light sigh of resignation. The other students seemed peeved at the fact that 'Issei' got to be the one to get the feel on Rossweisse's toned, well-maintained frame, but the look on the teacher in charge left no arguments.

oXo

Rossweisse slowly opened her eyes. She cringed slightly as she felt her face, particularly the area around her nose was kind of throbbing. The next thing she registered was the fact that she was being cradled by someone, and she was moving - someone was in the middle of carrying her.

She blinked the drowsiness away, and the first sight that she met was the Issei's face. Rossweisse blinked again - the feeling of strong arms wrapping around her back and under her legs respectively…. She blushed when she finally registered that Saitama - in his son's body, was carrying her bridal-style - that only made the case kind of worse.

"I-Ise-! No, I mean, Saitama-!? Eh? Eehh!?" she began to freak out from the proximity shared with the man.

"Oh, Rossweisse. Glad to see you awake."

"Wait- What are you- Wha-...!?" Rossweisse ended up stuttering like crazy.

"Whoa, calm down. Then again, I guess I really am sorry for hitting your head pretty hard." Saitama stopped to re-adjust his hold on Rossweisse, before he proceeded on his trek again. "It's been ages since the last time I threw at baseball game."

Rossweisse ceased her frantic panic as she recalled of what happened so far. She remembered that the last thing she saw before blacking out was a white ball slamming into her face. She then sighed in resignation as she ended up resting her head on Saitama's 'shoulder'. Then, her face became flushed again; she was a teacher, it was unbecoming of her to be treated like this by a student, even if the said student was not exactly her student for several reasons.

"U-um… Saitama-san, can you please put me down? I can walk on my own." she whispered, but audible enough for only Saitama to hear.

"...You sure?" Saitama said as he stopped on his tracks again, glancing down at Rossweisse, who only nodded while looking down - hiding her flustered face.

Saitama then complyed, as he carefully set Rossweisse down from his grasp. As soon as Rossweisse had gotten back on her feet, she nodded at Saitama and the two proceeded towards the infirmary - they still needed to run a quick check on the former Valkyrie, after all.

However, few steps after they started walking, the throbbing on Rossweisse's head returned, causing her to lose balance and almost tripped - if not for Saitama quickly caught her shoulders to steady herself.

"Whoa, easy there…" Saitama said as he made sure that Rossweisse would not fall over. "...Okay, you're still not fine after all." he said as he immediately swiped Rossweisse off her feet, carrying her in the same bridal-style from earlier.

"Wha-!? Saitama-san! I'm completely fine, really!" Rossweisse yelped, as she struggled to return back on her feet. "I'm just need a little time to gather myself back, that's all!"

Alas, Saitama's grip didn't loosen as he walked again with Rossweisse in his arms. Seeing that she could not break free from Saitama's grasp, Rossweisse whimpered as she buried her flustered face into his chest, hoping and praying that nobody would see them.

As the trip towards the infirmary went on, Rossweisse tried to come up with something that could distract her of the thoughts being in Saitama's 'arms'. However, it seemed that Saitama himself addressed her first. "Say, Rossweisse. I did ask this earlier from that Student Council girl, but how is Ise doing at school, from your point of view as his teacher?"

Rossweisse blinked once, and she found herself humming in thought. "...I think Ise-kun is faring well enough at school. His quirks and surrounding rumours aside, he is actually a fairly good student."

"Hm, that's good to hear." Saitama nodded, a small smile appeared on his lips.

The two continued their trek in somewhat companionable silence. "Say, Saitama-san…" Rossweisse began this time. "Um… How is it…. You know, having to move in a body that's not your own?"

"Hmm… Not too bad, actually." Saitama replied. "I don't think there'll be much development at this current point. It's barely a day." he reasoned. "This whole thing was off to me on a new different level."

"Like… How 'off'?"

"...Dunno."

Saitama kept walking with Rossweisse in his arms for few more seconds before he started again. "Y'know, come to think of it… It's been awhile since the last time we talked like this."

"Is that so?" Rossweisse looked up with a hint of interest in her eyes.

"Yeah. We do still talk from time to time at home, but ever since you became a devil… Most of the time you've been busy with the kids." Saitama laughed a bit.

"Well, if you say it like that…" Rossweisse rolled her eyes - there was a hint of mirth in her orbs this time. "...I guess that's true. The life of a devil is more beneficial for me compared to my old life in Asgard, but that benefits come with the workload that follows."

"True, true... You gotta earn it, I guess." Saitama concurred. "Tell me, do you still keep in touch with Asgard ever since?"

"Mm… Not really." Rossweisse sighed. "Perhaps sometimes with Lord Odin if we're talking about works related to Asgard and Valhalla. But other than that…" she paused, her eyes then suddenly went wide. "...Oh, no…"

"What is it? What's with the 'oh no'?"

"I completely forgot to tell granny - my grandmother about my reincarnation into Rias-san's peerage." Rossweisse said as she buried her face into her palm.

"Grandmother? First time I hear about that from you." Saitama quirked an eyebrow at the new piece of information.

"Yeah… She's… I guess she's the only member of the family that really looks after me…" Rossweisse smiled lightly at the memory. "My parents… are busy as warriors of Asgard, you see. Since my grandmother has retired, she happened to have more spare time to take care of me." she said as she just realized she just shared an important piece of information about herself.

"I see. I guess she's a great woman, huh?" Saitama smiled lightly, as he continued his trek.

Since the atmosphere of conversation was better than silence, Rossweisse decided to indulge into the conversation. _What's wrong about sharing things about your family?_

"She is. In fact, ever since her youth, granny has been, and still well-known as one of the best spell-casters in the Valhalla."

"Heh…. That sounds amazing." Saitama mused, eliciting a small giggle from Rossweisse.

Soon, the two arrived in the infirmary, with the nurse in charge was nowhere to be seen. Saitama merely shrugged the thought, and he soon deposited Rossweisse on the nearest bed. "Just rest up and take it easy there. I'll… actually gonna go and fetch Asia to patch that bruise up." he said as he tucked the former Valkyrie under the white blanket.

When Saitama left the bed towards the door, Rossweisse's hand suddenly shot up, grabbing on his clothes. Saitama paused, then he glanced at the hand grasping at the fabric, and to the teacher who just stopped him from leaving.

On the other hand, Rossweisse was inwardly _freaking out_. Her face was blushing like crazy by the time she had realized her deeds. _"WhatamIdoingWhatamIdoingWhatamIdoing?!"_

"...Rossweisse?" Saitama carefully called out to her, his gaze was questioning.

"Err, um…" Rossweisse let go of her grasp, her eyes frantically looking around, as her mind was also frantically looking for ideas. "A-A-Asia-san is attending a lesson at the moment, so l-let's not interrupt her studies." she said as she believed that reason was good enough coming out from her as a teacher. "...B-besides, I think there is some compress in the cupboard, I'll be fine with that."

Saitama blinked, his eyes remained at the flustered woman with a somewhat searching look in his orbs. Nevertheless, he sighed few seconds later. "...Okay, if you say so." he relented as he walked towards the cupboard.

Few moments later, Saitama made a quick work of fetching Rossweisse the said compress, as well as a glass of water. "Here, drink this first." Saitama sat next to Rossweisse's bed and handed the woman the drink.

Rossweisse dutifully took a mouthful sip and Saitama took the glass away from her and gave her the compress. "Here, still fresh. Keep it pressed on your bruise."

The Valkyrie did per instructed, as she chose to lay down and let the compress simply sat on her forehead - the area that was still throbbing. As soon as Rossweisse had settled down, Saitama then rose up from his seat again. "Well, then. I'll take my leave…"

"Wait!"

When Saitama was about to walk towards the door, Rossweisse's hand suddenly shot up again to grab on a piece of his clothes, this time the woman was also more vocal in stopping him. "...Yes?" Saitama asked with a raised eyebrows as he turned back to her.

Meanwhile, Rossweisse's face was blushing even harder. _"Seriously, what's wrong with me!?"_ she could not even understand herself. "Err, um, I….." her stuttering was even worse than before. "C-c-can you s-stay with me for a bit? I… I won't take long to recover, so…. Please?" she ended up burying herself under the blanket, only showing the upper half of her fuming face.

Saitama blinked at the woman's antics for few seconds before he sighed heavily. He then returned to his seat as he kept accompanying the teacher.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" Rossweisse whimpered, not daring herself to look at Saitama in the eye. "Y-you're a student, yet I'm asking you something outrageous…"

"It's fine." Saitama said as he made himself comfortable on his chair. "...After all, I'm not a student, remember?" he said with a slight smile to lighten up the mood.

And that actually worked, even for a little, as Rossweisse peeked from her cover, a small smile adorning her face. "I… guess you have a point."

The two then fell into somewhat more companionable silence for few minutes, until Rossweisse started another conversation. "Say, any news from Azazel about… you know, this whole situation between you and Ise-kun?"

Saitama blinked at the question. To be honest, he actually almost forgot about that, considering that the day had gone without major incident so far - if what happened during P.E. was not counted.

"Hmm…. There's nothing so far. It's barely a day, remember?" Then Saitama hummed in thought. "But… Something will come up. We just have to wait."

"I think you should be more concerned about the whole situation, Saitama-san…" Rossweisse argued from her sleeping position. "Even if there's no repercussion from your body exchange so far, this kind of change can't be seen as a good thing. We need to think of a solution as soon as possible. What if things stay like this?"

"Hm…" Saitama hummed again as he looked down in thought. "Well… I do want my own body back soon, but… Then again, is there any use of worrying?"

Saitama's words in the end caused Rossweisse to blink. "I mean…" he then awkwardly ran his hand through his 'hair'. "I don't know how to explain this, but…. From my experience, as long as we don't despair or lose hope, things will work out somehow. If the me today won't get any result, then…. I'll leave things for the me from tomorrow."

The room went silent for few seconds until Rossweisse broke the silence by giggling to her hand. "...What?" Saitama said with narrowed look, as if he was insulted.

"Sorry… It's just…" Rossweisse calmed herself down. "...You haven't changed at all. I'm talking about your optimistic point of view - that's just so like you."

Saitama only snorted in return. "Well, what can I say? I'm not a thinker type. I prefer to deal things head-on, as simple as that." he said while crossing his arms on his chest.

Rossweisse smiled pleasantly at the man before her, her cheeks were coloured in faint shade of pink. This was the man who had the confidence, as well as strength necessary to hold his head high, looking and moving forward towards the future, while having whatever hardships thrown to his face - a trait that she had come to admire, considering her life so far. No matter what form he was taking at the moment - like his own son for example, he would be always the same hairless fool who she had fallen for…

Rossweisse's blush suddenly returned to her face with vengeance, and she quickly retreated under the privacy of the white blanket draped over her.

" _What the hell was that?!"_

She panicked, her mind was in dire chaos. And then it hit her… her feelings were resurfacing the longer she spent time with him. She could not believe it, she regarded herself as a proper woman; sure, she admitted that she once had a crush towards a certain man, but everything should have been resolved on that night, and they had moved on; yet here she was, still looking at him, as well as regarding him with the same feeling she had towards him all those years ago. _What the hell was she thinking?_ She should have had moved on, so why was she still chasing after a married-man?

"...Rossweisse? You okay there?" Saitama asked as he loomed over the bundle under the blanket.

"I-I-I'm fine, Saitama-san. Y-y-you can go now if you like, I-I'll just rest here and be fine on my own now." Rossweisse's voice came out from the white bundle.

"Err…. If you say so." Saitama blinked confusingly, before he finally walked towards the door. "...You're not gonna stop me half-way again, are you?" he asked while looking back again.

"N-NO! I-It's not that I just wanted your company- well, and it's not that I want you to leave either…..But…. I- err, um... J-JUST GO! I'LL BE FINE! You still have to play the role of a high-school student!" Rossweisse sank further into her bed as she had become an utter stuttering mess.

"O… kay." Saitama sweatdropped at the sight. "Then, I'll see you later." the door of the infirmary was closed and Saitama was no longer around; leaving Rossweisse to whimper alone on the bed.

"I'm the worst…."

* * *

Back to the town, Issei and his gang finally managed to resolve the issue in the restaurant - which where he, Serafall and Gabriel decided to split the bills evenly; and were walking through the rest of the shopping district.

Currently, Issei - in his father's body, was facing another predicament of his own.

"Alright! Now, time for some shopping!" Serafall suddenly said, stretching her body.

"...Eh?"

Honestly, Issei just wanted both women to go home. But alas, he could not, in good conscience, just shoo them away.

"Isn't it obvious?" Serafall pouted at him. "I originally wanted to give a surprise visit to So-tan, but I ended up with you! Be responsible and make up my lost time!"

" _Weren't you the one who wanted to join us in the first place?"_

Issei wanted to say that, but his instinct told him otherwise, leaving his jaw hanging open for a second before closing it again.

"Besides, I think Gabe-chan can spend a bit more time, right?" Serafall beamed at her supposedly arch-rival.

Everyone turned to the Seraph, who was pondering her options. "Well… I should go back to Heaven soon, but… if Saitama-san doesn't mind, I'd love to learn a bit about human's current culture." she said with sheepish smile.

The combination of Serafall's haughtiness and Gabriel's radiant, shy and honest smile, had made Issei powerless to say no. He turned to Ophis, Kuroka and Le Fay, hoping for any sort of intervention or back-up. Unfortunately, as well as obviously, his three companions could only offer shrugs in return.

Issei could only slump his shoulders, as he held back from sighing in resignation. At this point, he could only hope that the day would be over without much incident.

"Hey, hey, what's with that look?" Serafall strode closer as her face was only few centimeters away; her eyes were glaring up at him. "You gotta a problem or something?" she asked with a scowl.

"...No, nothing." Issei replied while mustering his best poker-face. However, what caught his eyes that Serafall was suddenly backed away while _blushing_.

"Well… You better put your back on it, okay?" she said while subtly fidgeting. "Because… You haven't taken the responsibility for making me did what I did on the other day…" she muttered as her blush darkened while averting her gaze away.

That actually caught Issei's attention. "...Eh?"

"N-... Nothing!" the overlord huffed as she walked away, leaving the dumbfounded Issei.

Within his father's head (literally), Issei's mind was full of questions. Why was Serafall acting like this? Responsibility? Responsibility for what again? Why was Serafall refusing to look at him in the eye now? What had happened between the Leviathan and his father?

Then, while his mind was still in turmoil; as if to make the situation even worse - a new voice suddenly called him out. "...Saitama?"

Everyone turned their heads to see a woman with a golden blonde hair that reached her back, along with matching pair of golden eyes. Issei and the rest could not have mistaken her facial features.

"...Lady Yasaka?"

* * *

 **There shall be part 3, which will delve more into Issei's dealing with Serafall, Gabriel, and apparently, Yasaka (if possible, the conclusion as well). On related note, special thanks to i4md347h for co-writing.**

 **Let me hear your thoughts and comments about this chapter overall. Constructive reviews are appreciated instead of flames.**

 **Ahsoei, over and out.**


	7. Switched (III)

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing - neither of High-school DxD or One-Punch Man is mine.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Switched (III)**

"What are you doing here?"

Issei blinked as he took few steps closer to approach the nine-tailed fox in her human form. Inwardly, however, he was cursing his luck - for some reasons, he got an inkling that things would get out of hand even more.

"Oh, um…" Yasaka, the monarch of Kyoto Youkai, found herself feeling a tad nervous. After all, she did not go out of Kyoto a lot. In fact, it might be a blessing that she ran into a familiar face in a foreign land.

However, the said familiar face had somehow caused her to lose her composure, considering the history they shared in the recent past. "I… am looking for some gifts for my daughter, Kunou. The little one has been excelling in her studies as of late, thus I feel like rewarding her hard work."

"Uh-huh…" Issei nodded. "But, what about Kyoto? I mean, is it really okay for you, the leader, to leave your domain, without any guards?"

Yasaka blinked at the concern that 'Saitama' showed to her, but the concerns were welcomed. "The ley-lines beneath Kyoto can last for few days in my absence, and obviously I can't leave Kyoto unattended and unguarded. Thus, I have promised my retainers that I shall have returned by dusk. I can take care of myself, I assure you."

After listening to Yasaka's reasonings, Issei finally decided to nod in acceptance. Then, one of the women stepped forward, standing before the youkai monarch. "This is our first proper meeting, Lady Yasaka of Kyoto. My name is Gabriel, it is a pleasure to meet you in person." the Seraph flared a drop of her aura to emphasize her status, while doing a formal curtsy with her sun-dress.

"A Seraph, I see…" Yasaka's eyes widened ever so slightly in recognition, before she gave her own formal bow. "The pleasure is mine, Gabriel-dono. Yasaka of Kyoto at your service."

As the two female leaders were exchanging greetings, another one also joined the fray. "It's good to see you again, Lady Yasaka." Serafall put on her persona of the Foreign Affairs Officer, with amiable expression and straight posture.

"Leviathan-dono." the fox gave a quick nod at the overlord.

Issei could not help but to blink at the exchanges. It was kind of strange to see Gabriel and, especially Serafall with such attitude; one moment ago, the latter was acting like a cheeky spoiled child, and here she was, acting like a proper adult. Perhaps Serafall _deserved_ her title as one of the Four Great Satans, after all. The same could be said for Gabriel as well; along with Serafall, despite their bubbly persona, the fact did not change that the two women were leaders of their respective races.

However, as soon as the women had finished exchanging pleasantries, his musing was broken when Serafall addressed him. "Hey, Saitama-chan! Why don't we help Lady Yasaka here to find a good present for little Kunou?"

That made him blink, remembering that he would now have to deal with not just two, but _three_ powerful women; with one of them had questionable attitude towards him. As much as he wanted to just bail here, his good conscience just would not allow him to just leave. "...Okay, sure." he replied while holding back a sigh, eliciting a pleased smile from everyone.

Perhaps he could use a bit of a back-up - his three companions. However, when he turned around to address Kuroka, Le Fay and Ophis, the trio were nowhere to be seen and Issei only found a piece of paper lying on the ground beneath him. He found himself picking it up and read what was written on it.

 _Going home ahead. We know our way back on our own, so don't worry. Have fun, nya. ;3_

Issei crumpled the paper in his fist at the sudden betrayal. However, it was not as if he did not understand why they chose to leave. Now it was up to him alone to end the day without anything bad happening.

"Hm? Where are those three?" Gabriel innocently asked about the three women who basically just bailed on Issei.

"They… just went home ahead." Issei simply replied. "Well, no need to worry about them. They'll be fine on their own. Why don't we get going?" he said while sporting the best smile he could muster with Saitama's face.

The three women stared at Saitama for few seconds before they nodded and went their merry way.

Walking just behind the three women, Issei took a deep breath to calm himself down. Now that he thought about it; this might be a chance for him to determine one thing - his father's relationship with these women; particularly Yasaka. As far as he knew, Saitama never had any interaction with Gabriel. The thing with Serafall was mere speculations he came up with Sona, but Yasaka on the other hand… He still remembered of how their last meeting ended up during the aftermath of Kyoto fiasco with Cao Cao and his group.

" _Okay, Ise…. Play it cool."_ Issei told himself as he stared at the three women chatting to each other. _"It's not that bad. Stay positive. Their quirks aside, these three women were actually nice and reasonable. Just play your cards right, and nothing will go wrong."_ he kept saying to himself, preparing for whatever was to come as he kept walking with the three women.

Meanwhile, among the crowd, quite away from the group of man and the three women, Kuroka, Le Fay and Ophis were observing from one corner of the block, hiding inside the crowd of other pedestrians.

"Um…. Ms. Kuroka?" Le Fay timidly asked. "Aren't we going home?"

"What are you saying, Le Fay-chin?" Kuroka replied, her eyes were twinkling in amusement at her target. "This is way too interesting to miss, nya!"

"E-eh?! That's- This is not right, Ms. Kuroka!" Le Fay protested for the poor man. "We should go back and help him!"

"Le Fay-chin, a Seraph, a Satan and a Great Youkai in one, same location? That's no different than diving into a typhoon, nya." Kuroka reasoned as she was against getting themselves involved.

Le Fay's eyes showed that she conceded with the black cat's point, but small part of her conscience still worried for Issei.

"Oh, relax, Le Fay-chin." Kuroka waved off. "Even if their souls were swapped, I think even Ise-chin in this state can easily take care of things should something happens, nya. We might as well standing by as emergency back-up, nya."

Le Fay whimpered, knowing that it was futile to persuade the black cat to reconsider. She turned to Ophis, who was simply watching intently at the group; then Le Fay sighed again, knowing that asking Ophis for help would be useless as well. However, at least Ophis was willing to stick with them if it meant for watching Saitama. That way, they would not need to worry about the dragon god wandering off.

 _Today is going to be a long one._

* * *

Back at Kuoh Academy, the school period was finally over and the students were either going home or doing extra-curricular activities. After the fiasco during the P.E., our favourite hero in particular, was doing 'his' own club activities at the old school building.

Currently, Saitama was staring at one peculiar thing; there was a white-haired girl with petite frame sitting on his 'lap'.

With a plate of pudding in hand, Koneko was taking a bite of her treat as she made herself comfortable on Saitama's lap - which was technically Issei's.

Saitama starred at the girl before him, then he turned to give everyone a raised eyebrow look of his own - with Rossweisse refused to meet his gaze with her flustered face. "...Is this a thing?" he asked as he pointed down at the Rook.

"Apparently, yes." Rias gave a sheepish smile as she sat on her desk, sorting out paperworks.

"...Spot." Saitama caught a tiny voice from his lap, then he turned to see Koneko who was glancing back at him. "...My spot." those two words alone caused Saitama blinked in wonder.

"Koneko-chan likes to sit on Ise-kun's lap since last summer." Yuuto dutifully provided.

"But on that note…" Akeno added this time. "Ravel-chan and Ophis would tend to compete with our Koneko-chan here. For the privilege of sitting on your lap, I mean."

"W-w-what are you t-talking about, A-Akeno-sama!?" Ravel stuttered as her face blushed in embarrassment. "I-It's not like I love to sit on Ise-sama's lap!" she managed to finish, gaining amused look from everyone else.

"Besides, currently Ise-sama is not exactly him, right?"

That made everyone blinked in thought. Currently, Issei's body was being inhabited by Saitama's soul, so in a sense, Koneko was actually sitting on Saitama's lap instead of Issei's.

The white cat frowned at the thought, as she slightly squirmed on her position, trying to make herself comfortable for few seconds. "...It _does_ feel different." she concluded as she finally settled down - still looked unsatisfied, but she did not squirm anymore. "...But this will do for now, so…. Still my spot."

However, the petite Nekoshou turned to address Saitama, with her face showing concern. "Am I… bothering you, Saitama-san?" she asked meekly.

Saitama simply starred at Koneko's doe-eyed look before he lifted his hand to pat Koneko's head gently, eliciting a comfortable purr from her. "...Nah, it's fine. Just take it easy if you want."

"Nya, I'll be in your care, Saitama-san…" Koneko could not help but to purr some more on the administration.

"My, my, ufufufu…" Akeno giggled. "It seems even Saitama-san can't resist Koneko's charm. I wonder how Ise-kun will react if he sees this?" she teased.

Saitama only gave Akeno a deadpanned look. The latter could not help but feel 'strange' - at the very least, the notion shared with everyone else, when 'Issei' gave her such look. Things were actually getting freakier as the time passed, with the soul-swapping situation between the father and son.

"Oh, look at the time." Rias checked the clock in the room. "Everyone, it's time for us to work. You know the drill - make sure that the clients are satisfied and sign contracts with us."

It was actually a slight change ever since Issei was no longer a devil. Since Rias' peerage was one member short, most of Issei's work had to be taken over by everyone else. To be precise, while Issei could still respond to some clients' requests, he could not do it as convenient as a devil could.

Everyone then began to move and disappeared in teleportation glyphs, even Koneko had to reluctantly leave Saitama's lap.

"So…. What do I do while you kids are leaving?" Saitama asked, since even Rias happened to have a summon as well.

"Well…" Rias looked around. Since 'Issei' - Saitama would not have much to do in the clubroom due to the obvious circumstances, she then settled her eyes at a certain reincarnated angel, who technically did not have a summon. "...Irina-san. Sorry, but can you please look after Saitama-san in our absence?"

"Sure thing!" Irina beamed in acceptance.

Soon enough, the rest of Occult Research Club - including Ravel, had gone into their respective teleportation glyphs to fulfil their contracts; leaving Saitama and Irina alone in the room.

"So…" Saitama turned to Irina. "Any plan in mind?"

"Yep!" Irina beamed at Saitama. "Come on, Saitama-! No, this time I should address you as Ise-kun, right? I can take you to look around my own club!" she said as she took Saitama by his- Issei's arm.

"Your own club?" Saitama asked as he followed Irina.

"Yes, I call it Irina Shidou's Salvation of Love Club!" the reincarnated angel announced proudly.

"Uh-huh…" Saitama replied at the name. "So… what does this club do?"

"Simple, we answer our client's pleas and help them for free! That's the point of my club! It's about spreading the love!"

Saitama sweat-dropped at the description. "Okay…. Any members that I need to know about?"

"Nope! I'm the only current member at the moment. It took quite an effort for me to convince the Student Council to run this club on my own, though!" Irina replied as she kept walking with Saitama in tow.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, hold on." Saitama abruptly stopped on his trek, forcing Irina to stop as well. "So you're telling me that both you and me, alone, are going to run this… club? Irina, I think you and I need to talk about the definition of a 'club' is."

"Geez, of course I know what a club is!" Irina pouted. "In fact, Asia and Xenovia are honorary members!"

"And I guess 'I' am also an honorary member?" Saitama pointed to 'himself'.

Irina rolled her eyes before replying. "As a matter of fact… Yes. Ise-kun can't answer to devil summonings where the request requires demonic power or magic, so…. You know what I mean."

Saitama stared at the reincarnated angel for few seconds, before he took a deep breath in resignation. "...Fine, let's just get this over and done with."

"That's the spirit! Let's go!" Irina beamed once again as the two continued their treks.

* * *

Issei blamed his father for his current state.

What was supposed to be a simple shopping for gifts for little Kunou had turned into the three women's all-out shopping while they discussed about work.

Truth to be told, Issei had an idea to remind the female leaders that they still had works to be done. However, Serafall shot his argument down as she and Gabriel claimed that one of their paperworks involved sorting out affairs with Kyoto Youkai. Since Yasaka was present, the three women had agreed to discuss works while having fun - two birds with one stone.

Issei had taken upon himself to carry the shopping bags for the ladies - he just could not help but playing the role of the gentleman in front of the esteemed leaders. At least the three did not buy much, not to mention that Gabriel actually offered to help on carrying the bags, but his insistence and Serafall's rebuttal managed to convince the Seraph otherwise.

Besides, while he was not sure if he should taking pleasure in this, he had to admit that the three women looked gorgeous when they tried each outfit in display that caught their interest. Like how Yasaka and Gabriel actually looked _hot_ when she tried to wear jeans and other modern casual clothes, how Serafall actually looked…. Different - in a very good way, when she tried some more 'modest' clothings.

However, back to the current situation, Issei _really_ blamed Saitama for this.

"Saitama-chan~ How do I look in this?"

"Saitama, do I look weird in this… thing?"

"Hm, I guess human culture has become truly diverse when it comes to clothing…"

The three leaders had the gal to go to swimsuit store, and in different fitting room, they were showing their bodies clad in different swimsuits to Issei, who had been forced to wait for them.

Serafall was wearing a frilly two-pieces - one with childish design on that note. However, her proportional figure combined with her height somehow gave an unforgettable impression as she haughtily posed in front of Issei.

As for Yasaka, Issei had to question whether the princess wanted to cover her modesty as much as she could, or exposing her skin to show her appeal to him. Her swimsuit was…. _Exotic_ , to put it simply. A red-burgundy suit with immaculate design that hugged her body just perfectly, while showing skin of her waist, back, shoulder, belly without exposing too much of her breasts.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was wearing a white V-suit, leaving almost nothing to hide from imagination. What's worse, the Seraph was not embarrassed as she was purely curious of how she felt and looked in such suit.

Issei had to berate himself non-stop. _"You already had wonderful girls - Rias, Asia, Akeno, Xenovia, Irina, Koneko, and the rest others, dammit! Control yourself! And goddammit, dad! What the hell did you just get yourself into?!"_

The event had garnered unwarranted attention from both male and even female alike; as Serafall, Yasaka and (especially)Gabriel unknowingly attracted everyone's eyes with their respective charms. Some males even sent some jealous glare at him, as they knew that Issei was accompanying the three gorgeous ladies.

Issei took a deep breath as he used every strength - which did not come from his own body to calm himself, as well as trying to put up his father's signature 'poker face', albeit with some smile to show some sincerity. On that note, numerous male witnesses had fallen from a massive blood-loss.

"...You look stunning."

The three women stared at 'Saitama' for a second; until Serafall simply nodded with a smile of approval, Yasaka giving a flustered smile as she quickly closed her fitting room shut again, while Gabriel simply thanked him.

Issei, meanwhile, only sighed in relief as Serafall and Gabriel soon retreated to their fitting room to change back. "Well, I'll be waiting outside when you ladies are finished…"

However, when Issei just made it few steps away to the exit, Serafall suddenly popped out from the room - already clad back in her clothes. "Wait!" she said as she grasped his hand. "Saitama-chan, you haven't tried anything yet!"

Issei paused, and he slowly turned his head to face the Leviathan, who was beaming at him. "...Excuse me?"

"Geez, you've already seen us in swimsuits, it's time for you to return the favour!" Serafall argued with pouting face.

"Err…" Issei wanted to come up with something as an excuse to refuse, but then his eyes landed on Yasaka - with her mischievous smile, was holding a pair of black swimming briefs. When Issei turned to Gabriel, hoping for some form of assistance, the Seraph only smiled innocently in encouragement.

At least some of the crowds had dispersed, since they were not interested in looking at guys in a swimsuit; although there was some who lingered - curious of what was to come.

"Look, seriously; I don't think I can…" Before Issei could have finished, his eyes were met by the look that demanded no objection, both from Yasaka and Serafall.

Holding back a sigh, Issei began to think with a little time he had before he had to answer Yasaka and Serafall's demands. _What would Saitama do in this kind of situation?_

Few seconds later, Issei came up with one possible answer: Saitama would most likely just go fuck all and run away.

However, Issei pondered again: could _he_ do such a thing? To be more precise, not in terms of capability, but _would_ he do it?

There were many factors to be considered in this situation, mainly his current soul-swapping condition. In Yasaka, Serafall and Gabriel's eyes, they were asking Saitama Hyoudou to follow their current whims. However, at the moment, they were unknowingly, actually addressing Issei Hyoudou.

Issei had considered to go clean and tell the female leaders about the truth; but then again, there was this thing about credibility. Yasaka and Gabriel might believe him, but what about Serafall? Despite her current cordial attitude, Issei still thought that Serafall still did not go along with his father. In fact, perhaps Serafall's current request at him was another attempt of hers to mess with 'Saitama'.

Not to mention, now that everyone had spent the day to this point, saying something outrageous about body-swapping just ruined the entire day, and it would result badly for the long run.

Thus, the question: _would Issei Hyoudou just bail on these women, who knew nothing of what was truly going on?_

Few seconds later, Issei finally to be true to himself. "...Fine, I'll try it. Just this once, okay?"

The three women beamed as Issei took the swimming briefs from Yasaka and proceeded to the nearby fitting room. Few minutes later, when the fitting room opened to reveal Issei in Saitama's almost bare body, neither Serafall, Yasaka, and Gabriel could expect such an outcome.

Saitama was not exactly the most handsome man around. In fact, his hair-loss only served to degrade his facial charm more. However, when Saitama appeared, only clad in a pair of swimming pants, exposing his torso, arms and legs for the whole world to see; women learned that men's only charm did not solely rely on their faces.

Chiseled muscles that decorated his body from shoulder to toe; all of them were useful - not too big, but still (more than) defined enough to give him great strength. Not to mention, when Issei tried to keep his expression neutral to hide his frustration, he ended up making Saitama's expression looked sharp, in contrast of his usual plain look.

The effects were obvious - some of the female bystanders became flustered, even several sounds of them swallowing lumps could be subtly heard. Around the corner hidden by the crowd, Le Fay, Kuroka and Ophis were able to get a spectacle of the show.

The size of the young magician's eyes were as wide as saucers, as her skin became beet red and her head was literally steaming. She quickly hid behind the wall while put her hands up to cover her crazy-flustered face, her mind doing its darnest to forget what she just saw. "Be gone, shadows. Thou of the unseeable, fade back into oblivion, if of darkness. Be return to the immaterial…" whatever that incantations for, Le Fay kept muttering those words to distract her, as if her dear life depended on it.

Kuroka was flustered, but her eyes never left the sight of her target. She unconsciously licked her lips. "Hmm…. The apple doesn't fall from the tree, indeed-nya."

Ophis, in fact, raised her eyebrows in curiosity - the first sign of interest she actually showed since the entire debacle had begun.

Kuroka then noticed the mumbling next to her, and she turned to see Le Fay was still mumbling on the floor, her flustered and fuming face was covered by her hands. "Err… Le Fay-chin? You okay there, nya?" the black cat asked.

"...I am the truth of creation. In the face of all things, thy defeat is certain…."

"...I'll take that as 'not really', nya." Kuroka surmised the state of her companion and returned to her observation.

But most importantly, the three female leaders who got the front seats before Issei's 'body' - Serafall, Yasaka and Gabriel had varying reactions. The former pursed her lips, while her measuring eyes were screaming a silent approval, as she hummed and nodded her head subtly in appreciation.

Yasaka's face was flushed as she took and exhaled a deep breath to calm herself; while also giving a nod of appreciation. One might said that she was silently _thankful_.

Gabriel simply went silent, as her eyes regarded Issei's 'body' carefully. There was a noticeable pink shade across her cheek, and out of everyone's sight, the 'radiance' on Gabriel's person, for a split second, _flickered_ before returning to shine like normal.

"...Well?" Issei finally addressed after the three women had stared at him for few minutes, snapping all of them out of their reverie. "How do I look?"

It was actually Serafall who replied first. "Thank you for the me-!" she paused as soon as everyone else turned their stares at her, and she had the tendency to blush deeper and cleared her throat. "...I mean, yeah. You look passable." she quickly corrected herself.

Issei raised an eyebrow at Serafall's awkward response, and the latter quickly glared at him. "Well, go on. You can… change back. Put on some clothes." she said while doing shooing motion with her hand - all the while covering her flustered face away.

Issei furrowed his eyebrows at the attitude, but he eventually complied without a word, as he returned behind the cover of the fitting room. As the crowd began to disperse - with the females walked away with dreamy look on their faces; Serafall took a deep breath to calm herself, and noticed that Yasaka and Gabriel were eyeing her.

"...What is it?" Serafall asked with a faint blush remained on her face.

"No, nothing." Yasaka replied as she looked away along with Gabriel, albeit with a hint of amusement in their eyes.

While waiting for 'Saitama' to come out, truth to be told, all three women - in their own way, were actually busy calming themselves down after the display earlier.

When the group had exited the clothing shop, Issei had been emotionally and mentally drained. "Um…. I thought we're looking for souvenirs for Kunou-chan?" he decided to address the real topic.

The three women blinked at 'Saitama', before Yasaka actually blushed. "Oh, that's right!" she cleared her throat. "Sorry, we're getting side-tracked. Do you know any shop that sells merchandises for children?"

* * *

Saitama sighed as he kept living the life of his son, Issei Hyoudou. Apparently, after waiting for few ungodly hours inside one empty class-room, which had been used as the clubroom for Irina Shidou's Salvation of Love club, the man and the club-president - reincarnated angel had received requests to help other clubs to clean up several equipments and tools.

Here they were, mopping and cleaning the wooden floor of what appeared to be a large hall room, which apparently was the kendo club's practice hall. To be precise, Saitama was mopping the floor, while Irina was helping cleaning the kendo equipments - bamboo swords, armour and all.

Few minutes later, when Irina was onto her next set of armour to clean up, and Saitama moved to another corner with a mop and bucket of water in hand, the entrance door slid open, revealing two female students. One of them was a girl with long brown hair, tied into twin ponytails with red scruffs, and the other was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair with white head-band on top.

"Excuse us."

The girl with brown hair called out, followed by her pinkette companion.

"There are some stuff we need to put in the storage house, mind if we…." her gaze slightly narrowed in slight apprehension when she turned to 'Issei'. "...Borrow Hyoudou-kun for a bit?"

Saitama noticed their arrival, but he could not help for the life of him but to forget their names. He recalled that the two girls were from his class - they even spoke with Asia, but he just forgot their names. He turned to glance at Irina with his eyes asking for help.

Fortunately, Irina picked up as she beamed at the two girls. "Of course, Murayama and Katase-san!" she then blinked knowingly at Saitama, who returned with a subtle nod of thanks. At least he got the names.

Saitama then stood up, putting the mop and the bucket away as he walked pass Irina. "Murayama was the brown-haired one." The reincarnated angel quickly whispered the message, which was returned by a quick reply of his own.

"Thanks." Saitama then glanced at the girls again - _so that one is Murayama, the other one is Katase. Got it._

When he approached the girls, however, the latter somewhat gave him stink eyes as they quickly turned around and walked away, as if they did not want to interact with him if they could help it; a notion that made Saitama blinked and narrowed his eyes slightly.

" _...What's with them?"_ Saitama turned to give questioning looks to Irina, but the latter only gave a sheepish smile while flashing him a thumb. That means he had to improvise somehow.

When the trio left, Irina could only sigh, hoping that Saitama would not got into another trouble. She then quickly moved on to her current duty, working as fast as she could so she could catch up and back him up in case of emergency.

oXo

Kaoru Murayama and Yui Katase did not like men in general. Ever since Kuoh Academy became a co-ed school by the time they applied as first-year students, the number of opposite sex flocking around them had increased; and so far as they saw, most men were pigs - safe for few like Gasper Vladi and Yuuto Kiba, for example.

To be honest, Issei Hyoudou initially appeared to be 'okay' in their book, despite his friendship with perverted duo: Matsuda and Motohama. However, ever since the day when they heard his voice screaming about claiming the Great Lady Rias Gremory's virginity, they ended up seeing Issei in much less light.

They would actually rather not involving in their current chores, but the situation demanded otherwise. First, the things and equipments that need to be moved were quite too much for the girls to heavy-lift them. Second, with the knowledge that there was a guy, they felt reluctant to ask Irina to help them. Thus, they decided to bear with Hyoudou.

The only silver lining they had was the fact that Issei never showed any sort of indecent behaviour, despite the rumours flying around.

When they finally opened the door to the shed, Saitama had to sigh. Not only there was mountain of boxes and equipments to relocate, the interior needed a lot of tidying and cleaning from the dust lying around.

Clothes were wrapped around the faces to prevent dust inhalation, gloves were worn to keep the hands clean; Saitama and the two other girls began working - the former was in charge of heavy-lifting while the latter would take care the cleaning up.

However, as minutes went by, Saitama could not help but feel awkward. While he was used to work in silent, with or without someone, the reaction the girls gave whenever they got into certain proximity kind of got on his nerves. Besides, considering the role Saitama had to pull as a high-school student, perhaps he should engage in a conversation or two?

Then again, should he held a conversation, what should he talked about? Only few minutes ago he knew their names. At this rate, Saitama might as well bear with the awkward silent atmosphere.

"Say, Hyoudou-kun…"

Saitama paused at his work and quickly turned to the source of the voice that called him - " _Who's that…. Katase, was it?"_

"What is it, Katase?" Saitama asked as naturally as he could with his son's voice.

"How are things with Asia-chan?"

Saitama blinked at that question. "...What's with the question? What is this about?"

"Well, Asia is our friend, you know?" it was Murayama who replied. "We…. just can't help but to worry for her well-being. You know how vulnerable she can be."

Saitama had to nod in agreement. Even with the limited and little time he had spent with her, Saitama knew enough that Asia was still as innocent as when he met her for the first time. Even with the bad things thrown at her, Asia was still a pure, gentle soul that would always believe in the best out of anyone. In other words, she was way too kind and trusting for her own good, and it made everyone wanting to always look out for her.

In the end, Saitama chose to humour the girls. "It's…. It's fine, I guess." Saitama nodded, as if he found himself agreeing with his own answer. "...Yeah, Asia's always been a great girl."

"True, true." Murayama and Katase nodded in agreement, as their limbs kept doing the work in auto-pilot.

"That's right. There's something that I'm curious about." Katase spoke out. "...Hyoudou-kun, lately you've been going to school with Rias nee-sama and the girls from Occult Research Club. Where do you all live? How close are your homes with each other?"

That made Saitama paused for a second before his body returned to its auto-pilot, as he continued moving boxes and pushing crates. Now, how should he answer that?

First, he knew at least that it had been a thing at the school that he - no, _his son_ was dating Asia, but what about his son's relationship with Rias and the others? Was the fact of their cohabitation under the same roof also a common knowledge in this school?

"...Hyoudou?"

 _Crap_ , he had been silent for too long. Bracing himself, Saitama then carefully picked on his answer. "...We live… close by." It was not truthful, but not a total lie either - he did not need to specify _how close_ he and the girls were living by.

Murayama and Katase paused at their work for a second, as they found 'Issei's' tone to be somewhat off. "Like…. You are in the same neighbourhood?" the former asked.

Saitama quickly seized the opportunity to save himself from opening another can of worms. "...Yes! Yes, we live in the same neighbourhood." Saitama nodded to himself. "And since… y'know, club stuff and all, Rias started to come over every morning with other members. Something about member bonding…. Something like that. Yes…" he even metaphorically patted himself on the back to make such plausible conclusion.

"...What did you say?"

Saitama blinked when both Murayama and Katase furrowed their eyebrows at him. "...What?"

"...Did you just address Rias nee-sama so… casually?" Murayama narrowed her eyes along with Katase.

Saitama held himself back from swallowing a lump. _Oh, shit_. His usual habit around Rias just had to come out now of all times.

"What? No." Saitama defended himself as best as he could. "I said Rias… Gremory-senpai. She's the leader of the club… Right?" Saitama finished as he inwardly hoped that the girls would buy his words.

The two girls mildly glared at him for few seconds, before they finally huffed and no longer pressed the issue, much to Saitama's relief. They then continued their work again for another few minutes. By the time Katase started another topic, they were over half-way done.

"Say, Hyoudou-kun…" Katase said as she wiped a sweat off her forehead. "You and Asia-chan…. Who confessed first?"

That made Saitama paused on his heavy-lifting for a second before he went back to move; his mind recalling the scene where he caught his son and his girlfriend professing their love on that evening. "It's…. It was Asia."

Murayama and Katase blinked as she imagined Asia confessing… which was not that far off considering her meek and timid personality; not to mention the fact that she had been under Hyoudou's care ever since her transferring into Kuoh.

"Hm, I guess it's natural coming from her." Murayama remarked. "Well, I guess that's fine, but…." she then strode towards Saitama; the latter automatically leaned back as the former's face was close to him. Not only that Katase was also right behind her - the two girls glaring at him. "Asia is a great girl, and she's our friend. You'd better treat her right, you hear me?"

Saitama blinked as he found Murayama and Katase were now holding bamboo swords which seemingly came out of nowhere. However, despite that, he inwardly smiled; while he did not care much about the children's school life, he was genuinely glad that Asia had such good friends like these two girls.

"Yeah. You can hold me on that." Saitama replied with a smile, causing Murayama and Katase to give him back his space with relief on their expressions.

"Good." Katase nodded with approving smile. "You know…. You…. probably are still an okay guy, after all."

Saitama could not care less to even give a retort, as he merely rolled his eyes while sighing, much to the girls' mild amusement, then Murayama clapped her hands

"Well, now those are out of the way, let's finish, shall we?"

They then continued to work.

* * *

Issei sprawled on a bench inside the shopping mall as he let out a deep sigh, finally having a chance to relax himself.

He glanced down to see several shopping bags near his feet, the goods, merchandises and souvenirs that Yasaka, Gabriel, and especially Serafall had purchased in their shopping spree. On that note, they had managed to buy a proper gift for Kunou; a build-yourself wooden eastern dragon model.

After the shopping, the group walked pass an arcade and Serafall suddenly had the gal to challenge Gabriel into a game duel. The Seraph, bless her pure soul, accepted the challenge with a simple premise of having fun. Thus, Issei was allowed to sit down and had some time alone, while the devil and angel were battling while Yasaka left for a quick toilet-break.

Few minutes later, Yasaka had returned from the restroom and joined to sit next to Issei. "Thank you for today, Saitama." the woman addressed him. "Kunou will definitely love this gift." The woman said as she glanced at the bag filled with the souvenir they got from the toy shop.

For a split second, Issei was confused and remembered that he was still in his father's body. "Huh? Oh, err… Yeah, it's no problem." he said as he rubbed his head awkwardly.

"I see that Serafall-dono and Gabriel-dono are still enjoying themselves in that…. Playing area." Yasaka noted. She and Issei could see all the way to the inside the arcade - Serafall and Gabriel were having a showdown at a dancing game, garnering a crowd of audiences.

"Yes, they are." Issei absent-mindedly nodded in agreement. As Serafall and Gabriel only moved on to the next game, with the former's expression was kind of livid while the latter was simply having fun.

The two then fell into companionable silence; both of them simply made themselves comfortable in the midst of people and patrons visiting the building. However, few minutes later, turns out that Yasaka started to feel uncomfortable as she spent more time with the man next to her, although not out of anything malicious.

Issei noticed from the corner of his eyes that the youkai leader was fidgeting on her seat; her eyes would steal one or two glances at him before she awkwardly looked away to distract herself. "...Is something wrong?"

Yasaka was slightly startled as her eyes panically darted around to find something to say. Few seconds later, she settled to set her gaze on the floor, her face was slightly flustered. "No….. Well, perhaps…."

Issei simply kept silent as he knew that Yasaka only needed few more seconds to form her thought into words. "I… thank you for accompanying me today…" she began. "But…. at this point, I cannot help but think… aren't you at least upset with me?" she said as her eyes ever so slowly turned to meet 'Saitama's' own orbs.

That question actually caught Issei off-guard. _"...The hell did I miss?"_ he thought as he bit her lips while his eyes darted around awkwardly. Few seconds later, he simply carefully replied with his own question. "...About what?"

The red shade on Yasaka's face turned darker as she fidgeted even more on her seat. She covered her face's lower-half with the sleeve of her kimono as she could not bring herself to meet 'Saitama's' eyes. "Um… When… When I sent you off from Kyoto last time…"

Issei blinked once, then twice, before his mouth formed into an 'o' shape in realization. He could not forget - hell, nobody involved could forget how the last meeting between Saitama and Yasaka had ended up. Their last interaction truly left an everlasting impression. "...Oh."

Yasaka then meekly met his gaze, as her face was blushing. "Well…. What do you…?" she trailed off as she just could not find the proper words to voice her question in her heart. She did not want to beat around the bush, but at the same time, she certainly did not want to sound like a complete bitch either.

Fortunately for her, Issei quickly caught on. However, he himself was not sure how to respond either. After all, it was _his father_ who actually received the end of Yasaka's advances.

" _How would have dad answered that…?"_ Issei furiously racked his brain. Indeed, how would _Saitama_ respond to that?

By this point of time, Issei had fully accepted that Saitama was… a good guy. It took time and quite some struggles, but Issei believed that he had gotten _some kind of_ better understanding of his father - who he was, what he did, and why he did them.

But the point of his current situation remained: he had absolutely zero idea of how to respond Yasaka's words; this body-soul-swap situation thingy _really_ needed to be resolved sooner than he thought.

After racking his brain for almost a full-minute, Issei finally came up with somethin. "Don't worry about it." Issei started. "He…. I'm not angry about it or anything." he actually almost slipped that one out due to emotions. Still, he believed and knew that Saitama was not the type who held grudge over one kiss.

Yasaka blinked as she fully faced Saitama this time. She was relieved, although she had yet to hear the answer of her actual question. "So…" she looked away for a second, before she set her gaze on the man again. "Do I…." she struggled to get the words out, but she finally abandoned every doubt as she decided to go free-fall. "Do I have a chance?" Yasaka did not care if the man before her was already committed. For all she knew, polygamy was not unheard of even in the current era.

It took few seconds for Issei to realize what Yasaka was insinuating with her choice of words. At this point, Issei could not find any more alternative that could save his ass (well, not his ass literally) from current predicament. The two fell into silence as Yasaka eagerly waited for 'Saitama' to give his response.

Fortunately for the man, the silence was broken as Serafall and Gabriel made their way back to them. "Ufufufu, that was fun. I never thought human entertainment could be so amusing!" the Seraph giddily commented. She was slightly sweating, but her face was refreshed.

"Tch, lucky shot, Gabriel… Lucky shot." Serafall grumbled, although her expression indicated that she was in brighter mood.

Issei and Yasaka blinked out of their stupor as they turned to see the angel and devil walking towards them - their previous tension was forgotten. Then, Gabriel quickly picked up her shopping bag - which had the least amount, apparently.

"I'm sorry, but I must return to Heaven at once." Gabriel said sincerely as she gave a deep bow. "It's been a pleasure to spend the day with all of you; Saitama, Lady Serafall and Lady Yasaka."

"Same here, glad that you had a good time, Lady Gabriel." Issei - somewhat inwardly relieved, stood up from his seat and replied amicably to the Seraph.

Yasaka also had schooled her formal and proper posture and expression as she regarded the Seraph respectfully. "The pleasure is mine, Gabriel-dono. I'm looking forward to have another discussion and talks with you. Hopefully with more relaxed atmosphere." she said as she gave her own bow.

Serafall only smiled lightly while waving her hand, not in unfriendly manner; she seemed to still a bit peeved at…. Whatever had happened in the arcade spree earlier.

"Then, have a good evening, everyone." Gabriel said her goodbyes and she walked away until she vanished into the crowd.

Serafall, Saitama and Yasaka finally noticed that evening was approaching as the sun began to set. "Oh, dear. I also have to return to Kyoto. I've spent enough time already." Yasaka quickly reminded herself as she picked up her belongings - especially her newly purchased souvenir for her daughter. "I'm looking forward to see you again, Serafall-dono." she addressed the Leviathan before she turned to 'Saitama', who somewhat looked sheepish and awkward when their eyes met.

"It's alright, Saitama." Yasaka simply smiled at him. "Another time." she simply said before she quickly strode forward, tip-toed and planted a soft kiss at the corner of 'Saitama's' lips, much to his and Serafall's surprise.

Yasaka gave one more beatific smile before she also disappeared into the crowd.

The stunned Issei was now left with Serafall, who snapped him out from his light stupor with a poke on his arm. The former turned to see Serafall raising her eyebrows while sending questionable looks towards him. "The hell did I miss?" she asked.

Issei merely bit his lips while shaking his head. "Nope. Nothing much, really."

Serafall quirked an eyebrow, clearly did not buy the answer. Nevertheless, she simply sighed as she walked towards him. "...You're hopeless, you know that?" she said as she looked up at him.

When Issei closed his eyes to sigh, Serafall's gave a sly smile as she grab a fistful of his shirt, yanking him towards her and pressed her lips on his. The kiss was quite deep but did not last long, as Serafall quickly broke herself off him and ran away with her belongings into the crowd.

"See you later, Saitama-chan~!" the female overlord cheerfully waved at him before her figure disappeared among the people.

Now completely alone among the crowd, Issei blinked owlishly at the events that just transpired before him. Few minutes later, he put his face into his palms as he groaned exasperatedly. "Goddammit, dad…"

* * *

When everyone returned to Hyoudou Residence that night, they found that Rossweisse seemed flustered around Issei and Saitama, and chose to skip dinner and quickly retired to her room early; much to their confusion as they sent questioning looks towards Saitama - who was still inside Issei's body. The man simply shrugged in return.

However, when they talked about what happened that day over dinner, Issei was sending furrowed stares at his father - his own body to be precise, and it felt so weird glaring at yourself.

"Dude…" Issei said with incredulous tone. "...What have you done, man?" considering Rossweisse's popularity at school, Issei now had to prepare himself to face some angry mob of students when he returned to school.

On the other hand, Issei - in Saitama's body, was also giving glare at Kuroka, Le Fay and Ophis; primarily on Kuroka, for what just happened that day. However, he simply settled with "We'll talk about this later.", as he had enough for the day. The others also sent looks at the black cat, which the latter also responded with her same innocent gesture.

Rias and Akeno proceeded to contact Azazel, asking him about any clues or leads for the solution of Issei and Saitama's circumstances. Yet, the fallen simply replied that one or two more days of observation were required before they made any move. On that note, when they ended the call, they found that Azazel sounded…. _Amused_ for some reasons.

Long story short, after showers and dinner, everyone had turned into their beds, Issei and Saitama were now sleeping on their couches in the living room, per their temporary arrangements.

"...Say, dad." Issei asked as he simply stared to the ceiling, unable to sleep.

"What is it?"

"...You once asked me about my opinion about having a harem. Now is my turn. What do _you_ think about having your own harem?"

Saitama was now wide awake, as he glanced from his sleeping position at his son. "...Ise, where's this coming from?"

"Well…." Issei awkwardly rolled his eyes. "The thing is, I... might have left few details when I told everyone about what happened today…"

Saitama sighed as he turned to rest on his side, prepping his hand by his hand as he stared at his son. "...Okay, kid. What have you done?"

Issei then began about the finer details about his run-ins to Gabriel, Serafall and Yasaka; how he ended up having lunch with the former two when he was supposed to simply spend time with Kuroka, Le Fay and Ophis; who later ditched him after he ran into Yasaka; and when Issei had to follow the three female leaders with their shopping spree; and finally, how they parted ways by the end of the day.

"She _what_?!" Saitama woke up from his sleeping position, he even almost shouted too loud when he heard what Yasaka did to him… well, his body. "And Serafall also did what again to me?"

"You heard me." Issei simply replied.

"Uh… What did you say to her?" Saitama asked with slightly dreaded tone. Yasaka had practically confessed to him, and most likely expecting a reply by the time they met again.

"I… didn't manage to say anything, to be honest." Issei replied. "So… back to my question, what do you think about having your own harem?"

Saitama plopped back on his couch, as he let out a breath. "Ise…. Your mother will have the biggest fit of the century if she found me building a harem." he said as he ran his hand over his face.

"Well… what if mom actually allows you to?" Issei glanced at his father.

Saitama turned to mildly glare at Issei. "...Okay, who are you and what have you done to my son?"

Issei only responded with his own dry glare, and the two fell into some awkward silence for few minutes. "...Ise, do I need to remind you that you're the one who overreacted when I accidentally got involved with other women? I still remember Kyoto, y'know." Saitama finally said.

Issei only sighed as he felt kind of embarrassed. "Just… let bygones be bygones and answer the question."

Saitama sighed yet again as he turned up to stare at the dark ceiling. Few minutes later, he finally answered. "I… honestly can't imagine having a woman, or women other than Haruka in my life."

Issei hummed in understanding. "I see… Then, tell me. What do you feel about Lady Yasaka, Serafall and…. Rossweisse?"

"...Why did you mention Rossweisse?" Saitama asked back.

"Dad, everyone in the house knew that she at least used to have hots for you." Issei simply replied.

Saitama merely hummed, as he returned to think of the women in question. In his eyes, those women were…. _Incredible_ in their own right. But all those thoughts aside, he was simply not the type who actively chased women around to build something like a harem. "You know what?" Saitama finally replied. "...I'll cross that bridge when it comes around."

"...Fair enough." Issei shrugged. "Just so you know….. When the time comes, I will trust that you will do the right thing."

Saitama turned to see his son was actually smiling at him. That actually made the corner of his lips to twitch upwards at the expression. "Yeah… I'll remember that. Good night, Ise."

"Good night, dad."

As the two men finally embraced the blissful Realm of Morpheus, they dreamt they were being…. Tossed around - for the lack of better word. They grumbled a bit in their sleep, unaware that another change had happened upon them.

* * *

"It seemed that you're having more fun in the human world than you usually were, sister."

Archangel Michael spoke as he was taking a break from his work with her sister, Gabriel. "...and it appears that you also brought some souvenirs for the first time." the former said as he glanced at the shopping bag nearby. Gabriel usually only returned with memory from her outings.

Gabriel simply giggled while sipping her tea. "It is indeed fun, brother." she replied. "It was quite a refreshing experience, considering that I had few companies."

"Yes, you told me earlier." Michael nodded. "So, I take you did not cause too much trouble for Saitama?" he lightly joked.

"No, of course not." Gabriel played along as she smiled a bit wider. "Although, Saitama had been very hospitable. I'm looking forward to see him again."

Michael blinked as he noticed something in his sister's eyes - when she mentioned Saitama in particular. Few seconds later, he waved off whatever premonition he had as he decided to move on with the topic. "Tell me then, how about your talks with the other companies? Lady Leviathan and Yasaka, correct?"

Thus, the angelic siblings spent their times enjoying each other's company, talking and discussing of what transpired that day.

oXo

When Serafall happened to visit her old home at Sitri manor, her father and mother found their eldest daughter to be… happier than usual. To be precise, the happy expression she was exuding was kind of different than the one when she had visited her dear baby sister.

As the parents approached her, it was the father who took the first shot. "You seemed happy today, Serafall."

"Why would I not, dad~?" Serafall simply replied with her usual tone, as she sorted out her shopping bags.

The parents blinked at their daughter's aura. There was nothing bad about it, but as her parents, they could not help but curious.

"Tell me, Serafall…." the mother spoke up this time. "There's been rumours… that you're in love with a certain man…. Is it true?"

Serafall actually froze for a second, much to the parents' shock. However, the overlord quickly finished her sortie and quickly turned around to flash her parents her signature smile. "Ehehehe, what do you think~?" she simply said that before she quickly left the room, out of the building, leaving her parents alone.

Both Lord and Lady Sitri remained on their spots for a minute, before the latter exploded. "Did you hear that, husband!? SERAFALL IS FINALLY INTERESTED IN SOMEONE OTHER THAN SONA!"

Lord Sitri jumped from his wife's loud voice. "Huh? Wha-? Oh, err… Yes, yes… Hm, never thought the day would ever come." he rubbed his bearded chin to regain his bearings. "Although, didn't the rumours said that this man is a human?"

"Oh, who cares if this man is a human?" the lady huffed. "Our firstborn finally fell in love with a man. This is much better than her keeps pestering Sona! Oh boy, I'm looking forward to know whoever this man is!" she giggled in excitement, ignoring her husband's worried looks.

oXo

Back inside the room within the palace in Kyoto, Yasaka sat peacefully on the windowsill, gazing up at the night sky with stars and moon decorating the darkness. Not far from her, in the same room, her little Kunou was having fun with her newly purchased gift, as the girl focused her eyes and little fingers on building the wooden dragon before her.

Yasaka silently chuckled whenever she saw Kunou got frustrated whenever she hit a dead end with her wooden figure, and she was pleased how earnest her daughter on kept pushing herself to conquer the challenge before her.

The older woman then turned back to gaze at the distance - her mind drifted to the events that had transpired that day. Did she do the right thing by confronting Saitama about her feelings to him? She could not help but feel afraid of whatever reply that would come from him. Perhaps it was a good thing that she gave him more time to contemplate his answer.

Her mind then looked back to the past, recalling of how she got attracted to him in the first place.

At first she saw him as another good samaritan who saved her daughter from peril; she thought the man would not bother her realm again once she threw some feast and some flimsy rewards at him, just any other human that happened to stumble across the Demon Capital.

However, she was wrong, as Saitama would come over and help her, as well as her people to resolve various issues in her Kyoto, _without asking for a reward_. The fact that he had grown on her daughter only made her seeing him in a new light, as she observed her daughter eagerly spending time with him whenever Saitama came to visit.

Words were exchanged as Yasaka chose to know Saitama better out of her curiosity. And out of her expectations, he was…. So simple. Despite the power, the strength, he had no interest in grandeur nor fame, Saitama did what he did simply because he felt like it.

That thought greatly amused her as she ended up looking forward to his company from time to time.

Yasaka sighed when she recalled that night, when she finally acknowledged her feelings towards him. Feeling that she had enough for the night, she tore her gaze away from the sky as she stood up from her sitting position. "Kunou, it is time for bed."

oXo

Meanwhile, in her room, Rossweisse was a bit restless as she laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling above her.

She believed she had gotten over him pretty well when she confessed her feelings before him, and receiving a small pang of bitterness when he politely turned her away. It kind of hurt, but it allowed her to act more naturally when she met him again. For a while, their relationship was pretty amiable; with her being in charge of his son's education. Overall, things were good for some time, until now.

She thought she had moved on, but she was wrong.

She was still smitten to a man named Saitama Hyoudou. How did she only find out by now?

Rossweisse's face turned melancholic as she pulled the covers of the bed over her, isolating herself within the confines of sheets and blanket.

She could not help but mad at herself. A reincarnated devil or not, she had been, and was foremost, a Valkyrie, an Asgardian warrior that had taken the pledge to stand strong before any kind of hardship. Her grandmother's teachings had made sure of that.

Years of loneliness from her own shortcomings and complex were not completely kind to her, albeit there were also some reprieve, namely the same grandmother of hers, as well as a certain human that managed to make a lasting impression in her heart.

Despite the hard life as a war-maiden, added with her burden as Odin's personal assistant, she was at least given the chance to fall in love like other normal girls - a chance that she was grateful for. It did not work well in the end, but she did not regret any of it.

She believed that she had resolved herself to move on, after he had turned her down. However, here she was, having her resolve to waver again after she had realized that her feelings towards him had never changed at all.

As Rossweisse forced herself to sleep away her worries, her mind kept asking herself: is it alright for her to cling to this feeling? Even if she knew that she had almost zero chance to get what she wanted?

Few hours later, Rossweisse found herself finally being able to sleep, as for some reasons, she felt that things would work out themselves… somehow, for the better or worse.

* * *

 **I have to say this, folks. This chapter did not turn out as good as I hoped. The part with Murayama and Katase was actually a failed attempt to flesh out their characters, due to deadlines, writer's block, my other own shortcomings etc. I'm sorry if you find this chapter dissatisfying.**

 **On that note, I decided to have this chapter to focus on the possibility regarding Saitama's 'harem' - per popular request. Honestly, prematurely having Saitama to build a harem feels… like I'm spitting on Saitama's character and personality. So, yeah; I can't really 100% guarantee if Saitama's harem is actually happening, but… let's see what I can do and just hope for the best.**

 **And yes, this marked the end of Soul-Swapping side story. I just felt like to end this ambiguously.**

 **With those out of the way, one last thing that I want to give a shot at…..**

* * *

 **OMAKE: IT'S OVER 9000!**

Sometimes, it is safe to assume that when the universe tends to fuck with people, its favourite targets are hormonal high-school students due to…. Reasons.

The exemptions not even applied even when the student involved was actually an old man inside.

Aika Kiryuu was walking around the school, looking for Issei Hyoudou. She had been suspicious; his somewhat uncharacteristic behaviour, and the girls from Occult Research Club were somewhat apprehensive while watching his every move.

Something was happening, and her instinct in looking for newest gossip and rumours just compelled her to seek the truth of things.

After some asking around, she learned that Issei was currently tasked to help Murayama and Katase from Kendo club, to sort some stuff out in the storage house. As far as she had experienced, she had a gut feeling that something was going to happen. A storage room was a perfect place for a man and woman to do even the stupidest things - that thought alone caused her to grin mischievously.

"Whoa!"

"Kyaah!"

When Aika was nearing her destination, her grin widened when she heard Issei's cries, combined with the girls and some objects falling. _Right on the money_.

On the other side of things - note that even Saitama was a complete mature man, apparently the body he was currently trapped in was still that of a teenage young man. With two, attractive-ish looking girls making direct contact with him, even with Saitama held nothing like feelings nor attraction to the girls, his son's young body just had to react on them.

When Aika walked inside the dark room, her eyes settled just when Issei managed to break himself away from the girls, whom also wanted to break away from him as well. However, out of habits, Aika would always set her own 'scouter' around a particular area of Issei's body for her own amusement.

When her eyes settled on her target, however….

That day, Aika could have sworn that she had seen the truth.

"...Kiryuu-san?" the flustered-looking Katase asked as the bespectacled girl was standing frozen right in front of them. "...Are you okay?"

The only response that Aika gave was a blood trickling from her nose, followed with the lenses of her glasses suddenly cracked, before they broke into spectacular shards. Everyone widened her eyes as Aika suddenly just doubled over and collapsed to the unforgiving ground with a loud 'thud'.

"KIRYUU-SAN!"


	8. Thus Today is Called Present

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **Surprise, motherf*cker! Another update! However, this is just merely a re-hash of canon Light Novel short, 'Onii-chan Mask' - only with some personal touches of my One-Punch DxD. I just happened to have this in my mind and I can't help but to write it down. So... yeah, enjoy! Disclaimer: see the previous chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Thus, Today is Called 'Present'.**

Within a certain room of Gremory mansion in the Underworld, two figures, Issei Hyoudou and Sirzechs Lucifer, were sitting on a couch, in front of glowing screen that showed projected images - video recordings.

Issei's eyes were glued with undivided attention at the footage before him - a footage showing a little girl not older than four, clad in frilly dress with familiar red-crimson hair and teal-coloured eyes on her features. As the footage went on, the little girl on the screen would be seen smiling, laughing, pouting, and even crying; sometimes while she was hugging a size-able stuffed bear in her tiny arms.

As Issei kept his eyes on the footage, his heart would skip a beat for every now and then whenever he saw the expressions and gestures of the little red-haired girl on the screen. As his face was flustered, he swallowed a lump as the strange sense of excitement filled his being.

Apparently, his reactions were noticed by the devil next to him; Sirzechs Lucifer, sporting a slight nosebleed, was snickering as he poked his elbow at Issei's side. "Well? What do you think, Ise-kun? Ria-tan in her childhood is… the cutest, eh?" he gave a wide, cheeky grin.

Issei only nodded wordlessly at the question, his eyes never left the screen.

How did he get into current situation? It all began when one day, the whole gang was summoned by Venelana Gremory to the estate in the Underworld as she requested everyone to help her removing the excess merchandises - or so she called as 'useless junks' that Rias had bought from all over Japan. It was actually the first time for Issei to see Rias' bedroom in her original home, and much to his curiosity, upon entering, he could not help but see her room as 'messy'. The room was filled with bunch of merchandises, souvenirs and antiques that one could find from every corner of Japan. In fact, Issei could somehow relate Rias' room with Morisawa's room during his days as a devil, only in the former's case, the contents had more diversity than just anime and game goods.

Much to the heiress' chagrin and greatest reluctance, the removal was carried, as Rias would tearfully watch her treasures - treasures that she had gathered during her entire stay in Japan, were taken away by Issei and her peerage; either to be donated, sold, or downright disposed of.

Much to everyone's - especially Issei's amusement, there were moments and occasions where Rias would throw tantrums, like clinging on some merchandises while crying, begging and pleading for those stuff to be spared, only for Venelana and/or Grayfia to personally interfere so Rias would not halt the removal process any longer.

While he knew that perhaps he should have not thought such a thing; Issei could not help but to see that childish side of Rias to be _so adorable_ \- especially when he learned that she even named the wooden-bear models that she purchased from Kyoto.

Perhaps he would secretly buy more for her in future.

Then, after the whole thing was done, when he was resting in the living room of Gremory mansion, Issei was invited by Sirzechs Lucifer himself into one of the private rooms - the room was said to be only used for once or twice every year.

Thus, here he was - convinced, with nobody else could tell him otherwise, that he was looking at the sight of Heaven; his Fountain of Youth, his El Dorado, his Seven Dragon-balls, which was the video recording of Rias Gremory's childhood.

"It's…. Perfect, bro." Issei sniffed as his eyes were sparkling. On that note, it was some kind of agreement, that during private moments, Issei and Sirzechs would treat each other as siblings, rather than a man and demon king. "I can't believe you have such a thing in store for this whole time. Is this you abusing your power as demon king? Should I report this to the mass and your peers, that the king has been monopolizing this kind of footage for personal use?"

"Hahaha! I like your reaction!" the Crimson Satan laughed. "In any case, I'll let you know that Serafall also have these kind of thing in her possession, only the main feature is Sona instead of Rias."

Issei hummed in understanding. Since both the current Lucifer and Leviathan were the walking definition of sister-complex, perhaps it was only natural for Serafall Leviathan to have the recordings of her own little sister. Come to think of it, he also saw little Sona in some of the recordings as well, where little Rias was playing and spending time with her. On that note, Issei also had to admit that little Sona was no-less adorable as well.

"By the way, bro…" Issei said as he kept watching the remaining footage. "Not that I'm complaining - I'm grateful, in fact... but why are you showing me this?"

"Ho, going to the point, aren't we?" Sirzechs quirked an eyebrow while giving an amused smile at Issei. "True, there is actually something that I want to offer you, Ise-kun. Do you want these footage, along with some pictures of Rias' childhood, from her kindergarten until her middle-school days, that I managed to obtain in the past?"

Issei's ears perked up; video containing footage of the woman you love in her cute, adolescent period? _That_ was something worth considering.

"I… take this offer doesn't come for free?" Issei said after thinking for few moments.

"Indeed, it doesn't. We are devils after all. We don't give stuff for free." Sirzechs hummed in approval. "Because in exchange of copies of my stashes, I'd like you to do something for me…" the Crimson Satan's smile became somewhat devious as he began to explain the details of the deal.

* * *

It was Saturday night when everyone in Hyoudou Residence had gone to bed.

Per Haruka Hyoudou's suggestion about managing Issei's harem, it had been decided that every weekend - for one night, each girl was allowed to have Issei for herself. The order of the girls was decided by a lot, and the matriarch of Hyoudou household had declared that whatever result that came out in the end would not be revoked.

Long-story-short, after several trial and error, it finally was Rias' turn to sleep alone with Issei for the Saturday night. However, it was one of those nights when, after exhausting excursion from her house in Underworld, Rias ended up wanting to turn herself in early.

And while the girl was fast asleep, the door to the bedroom was opened, revealing Issei with a video-camera in his hand. He stepped in, and tip-toed carefully not to make any sound, lest Rias would wake up and the whole thing would be ruined.

 **[Agent Hyoudou, status report. Over.]**

Issei held back a sigh at the voice that came from the comm-transmitter attached on his left ear. The whole deal began when Sirzechs showed a footage of little Rias' sleeping face, that had apparently been recorded for 10 hours straight. It was simply what it was - the recording of Rias' sleeping face; nothing more, nothing less. Sirzechs had the footage recording of his little sister's sleeping form from her childhood until her middle-school years. Then, ever since her transfer into the human world, the Lucifer could not get enough chance to add another footage for his collection.

Thus, the deal where Issei ended up in; in exchange for the copies of videos and photos of Rias' childhood, Sirzechs had asked him to record Rias' sleeping form - in her high-school years.

"I'm in the room now, about to approach the bed… Over." Issei replied with hushed tone.

 **[Excellent. Proceed with the mission. Good luck, over.]**

Issei frowned at the whole idea; he did not understand the appeal nor the point of it. Sure, Rias was beautiful and all, but what was the charm of her sleeping form? He slept with her for almost every night, and while he enjoyed her presence and companion, he just could not understand Sirzechs' taste. Not to mention, recording someone's face without her consent - _did this not count as sexual harassment?_

However, in the spur of the moment, with temptation of possessing gallery of Rias' childhood clouding his mind, Issei had accepted Sirzechs' deal, which led to his current situation.

" _Well, it's not that I can go back now…"_ Issei shrugged. _"Besides, it's just her sleeping form, right? Nobody would be hurt by something they don't know."_

Issei approached the bed, and climbed up on the bed without making any sound. He sat, making himself comfortable as he positioned the camera right in front of sleeping Rias. However, before Issei could have pushed the recording button, his eyes laid at the sight of her face.

" _...Does she always look like this when she asleep?"_ Issei thought as strange emotions ran through his head.

Rias Gremory looked so…. _Serene_ , so peaceful in her sleep. It was akin to watch a flower garden under the starry, moonlit sky of the night. Now that he thought about it, this was actually his very first time to pay attention at her sleeping face. Most of the time Issei only saw her face when she was awake during the day, and during bed time, as soon as she had fallen slept, Issei soon followed suit as well.

Issei stared at Rias' face for what it felt like _forever_. He unconsciously put the video camera away from his hand; his face heated up as he stared at her soft, creamy white skin; nose, cheeks, eyebrows, ears - facial features that decorated her face just perfectly; her closed eyes - covered with soft thin eyelashes, concealing the gorgeous, teal-coloured orbs that he saw every single day with his own brown orbs; her lips that were parted slightly as she breathed - like pinkish-red flower buds, the soft lips that he loved to kiss anytime he got the chance, as well as the lips whose taste he would never got bored with; and last but not the least - the radiant, red-crimson hair that framed her _fucking_ beautiful face perfectly like a canvas.

Issei then froze in epiphany - for the whole time, such a wonderful treasure had been lying next to him for almost every night, and he never noticed that? _Inconceivable_. Issei felt like to punch himself for his own ignorance and foolishness.

 **[Agent Hyoudou? You seemed have been taking a while. Report, over.]**

Issei's eyes twitched at the voice in his ear. _Then there's this bastard of a siscon_ ; he had been seeing this heavenly sight for _years_ , even preserved the said sight in video recordings and pictures, yet he asked him to obtain some more? _Fucking absolute TWAT_.

 **[Agent Hyoudou? Do you copy? Agent Hyoudou? Ise?!]**

Issei took off his earpiece and squashed the tiny device with his fingers, and tossed the remains behind. This was the time for the hero to protect his damsel from the evil demon king - the said evil demon, who had been whispering him sweet, misleading words, false temptations for... insignificant pleasures of the past, could piss off for all he cared. Issei would choose the present in front of him for anytime.

Positioning his body so he was lying comfortably on his side, Issei propped his head with his hand as he continued to revel in the sight of his beloved's sleeping form.

Perhaps he could try this on the rest of the girls. But then again, would this affect his sleeping habit, considering he had days filled with work and school waiting for him ahead?

" _...Meh, sleeping is for the weak."_

* * *

"...Ise? Ise?! What is going on?!" on the top of Hyoudou Residence, Sirzechs - clad in black long-sleeved black T-shirt and black cargo pants, complete with a mask and night-vision goggles on his head, was speaking at the comm-transmitter on his ear. "...Bollocks!" he cursed after he failed to receive any reply from the person from the other end.

The line just went dead. What could have happened? Was Issei got caught? Mission failed?

There's no use of speculating. Sirzechs shook his head off his thoughts as he decided to jump in personally. Breaking into the house without anyone noticing was a child's play, but going all the way until the objective was perhaps the real problem. If he recalled the blueprint of Hyoudou Residence correctly, Rias' bedroom was located on the second floor, and Sirzechs was on the sixth floor.

Sirzechs then proceeded on the long hallways of the house. There was no issues whatsoever as he walked past the sixth and fifth floor. However, when he arrived at the fourth floor, Akeno just happened to walk right in front of her.

The Gremory Queen was fetching herself some drink when she noticed that someone else was present in the same hallway she was at. She squinted her eyes; even with her eyes as a devil, the dark hallway could still possibly allow even a creature of the night to miss few details. "...Hello?" she cautiously called out - _no reply_. Narrowing her eyes a bit further, she set her drink down on the floor and decided to do a quick check around. Preparing her thunder spell in hand for security measure, Akeno walked all the way across the fourth floor and went back to her original position. The result was: _there's nothing suspicious._

Letting out a breath, Akeno dismissed the whole thing with her exhaustion getting into her head, and she retired to her room. When the door was shut close, on a wall that was only few meters away, Sirzechs Lucifer suddenly appeared from the darkness. The Prince of Lies had used a spell upon himself; a mystery that he had been tampered through sheer experience that worth few centuries old.

Basically, the Lucifer himself did not simply masked his presence - although he believed there were some people who could do better than him, he had merged himself, became one with the darkness itself. Still, for Akeno to sense some anomaly, that was saying something.

Sirzechs smiled proudly at his sister's Queen. The little girl that was picked up seven years ago had grown this much. However, when he was about to resume his trek, he suddenly had to freeze midway as Koneko walked past him. He only managed to cast a simple presence-concealing spell over himself, a far inferior grade of the mystery he just pulled earlier on Akeno. The white-haired Nekoshou drowsily rubbed her sleepy eyes as she yawned, kept walking without a care - not even noticing a suspicious man in black standing nearby.

The petite girl vanished into a door, which Sirzechs remembered as the toilet. As soon as the girl was out of sight, the Lucifer sighed heavily in relief - it appeared that the Nekoshou's awareness of her surroundings had been waned considerably by drowsiness. He then quickly made himself scarce from the fourth floor before the Rook could have noticed anything.

Sirzechs then made a swift way towards the second floor, where his little sister was sleeping in one of the bedrooms. Knowing her, Rias would definitely be sleeping inside the room with the largest door - the room of Issei Hyoudou. Smirking to himself, readying a spare video-camera in his hand, he approached the door…

"Who the hell are you?"

Only for a familiar voice to interrupt him when his hand was only a second away from the door-knob. Sirzechs turned to see Saitama - clad in his pyjamas, staring at him. "...What are you doing in my house?"

 _Oh, boy_. Just when Sirzechs was about to reach his goal, the bald man just had to come out like a secret boss in RPG dungeon. However, the overlord would not back down easily in the face of the mighty hero.

"Err…. First of all." Sirzechs tried to reason first. "I assure you, I'm nothing sort of a burglar or anyone with malicious intent."

In response, Saitama only narrowed his eyes. "...Sirzechs?"

 _...Shit_.

"A-hahaha, I do not know this Sirzechs person, Saitama. I am the leader of a group who serves to protect the little sisters!"

However, Saitama only gave deadpanned stare at the man before him. He whipped out a cell-phone and dialled a number. "Ah, hello, Grayfia. Sorry for the late night call, but is Sirzechs with you?"

Suddenly, Saitama found the suspicious man before him was already on his knees before him, bawling in panic while clinging on his pyjamas. "Wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's me, Sirzechs! Please don't say anymore word to her!"

Saitama only sweat-dropped at the pathetic sight. However, it was already too late for Sirzechs.

[Saitama… Is that my husband with you?]

Grayfia's cold voice could be heard from Saitama's phone. Saitama glanced at the phone, then to Sirzechs, who was vehemently shaking his head and pleading to stay quiet.

"Err…" Saitama was not sure what to say. He knew Sirzechs had this coming after whatever he had tried to pull, but at the same time, Saitama knew enough how terrifying Grayfia could be, that he could sympathise with the Satan.

Alas, that one 'err' alone was enough for Grayfia to confirm her suspicion.

[...Saitama, please make sure he doesn't go anywhere. I'll drop by in a moment.]

The line went dead, and the hallway became silent, filled with only the voice of the phone line from Saitama's cell, as the man only looked down awkwardly at the Crimson Satan, whose face was slowly losing its colours.

* * *

Rias stirred in her sleep, slowly awaken as she could have sworn that she heard the voice of her brother's crying and screaming from outside of the room. However, her eyes met with Issei's brown, as the boy was lying next to her, his face was smiling serenely, staring right at her. "...Ise?"

"Shh…" Issei then ran his hand gently across her temple, all the way to the side of her face, and on the crown of her head through her hair; his touch magically soothed her down. "It's okay. Just go back to sleep."

"But… I think I heard someone screaming outside…" she wanted to argue, but Issei's administration on her head made her not wanting to leave.

"Nothing's happening. It's just your imagination." Issei replied. "...Just go back to bed. I'll be here with you." With one last stroke of his hand, Rias finally relaxed herself.

Rias hummed as she closed her eyes, snuggling herself into the warmth of Issei's chest. Then, she opened one of her eyes, finding that Issei was still staring at her.

"...Ise, what are you doing?" Rias opened both of her eyes this time.

"...Looking at you." Issei said with his smile widening ever so slightly; his gaze never moved away.

"...Then you should stop that. Go to bed. I can't go to sleep with you staring at me like that." Rias said with playful look.

"I'm not sleepy." Issei simply said. "In fact, I can go on even without sleeping."

"No, seriously. Cut it out." Rias giggled, playfully slapped Issei's chest. "How can I go to sleep knowing someone is looking at me like that? Go to bed, Ise."

"I can't, seriously." Issei shook his head, his eyes were still gazing at Rias' expression. "I just want to look at you all night." that reply elicited a blush on Rias' face as she giggled while burying her face into his chest.

"So…" Rias ceased her giggling and spoke. "...You won't go to bed, not allowing me sleep as well, no matter what?" she said as she looked up from her position.

Issei nodded wordlessly, and Rias' smile widened with her eyes acquiring a new glint. "...Then, it's up to me to make you sleep, eh?"

Issei gave a knowing grin. "...What do you have in mind?"

Rias simply climbed up to straddle Issei, revealing that she was _indeed_ in her birthday-suit as usual. "...This." she plunged into him, pressing her lips on his, while pulling the blanket over them both.

oXo

Meanwhile, after sending Grayfia and the seemingly half-dead Sirzechs away, Saitama pondered as he walked back to his room. From what he heard and found from the one-sided 'squabbles' between Sirzechs and Grayfia, the Crimson Satan was apparently attempting to record Rias' face in her sleep. That actually got him into thinking. _What's the point and charm in that?_

He finally got into his room, and he saw his wife was sleeping soundly on the bed. He climbed up, and positioned himself to lie on his side, his eyes gazing on his wife's sleeping form.

Few moments later, he found himself relaxing. _"This is... kind of nice, actually."_ he thought as smile creeping up to his face.

He kept his gaze on Haruka's gaze for who-knows how long. Later, he breathed in and out as he felt himself satisfied for the night. And when he re-positioned himself to enjoy his own share of well-deserved sleep, he saw a small glimpse of light passing through the small openings of the curtain, his eyes followed the light until outside the window.

"...Is that the sun?"


	9. Holiday Special

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **Another update for y'all folks! Truthfully speaking, my home country just celebrated Mother's Day a couple of days ago and I forgot that I wrote this piece in commemoration. Without further ado, R &R!**

* * *

 **Hell Hath no Fury like a Drunk Woman**

The two heroes were now standing before their home, their faces were apprehensive, no signs of nonchalance whatsoever. Their postures were straight, their expressions were hardened - refusing to bend before the evil they were about to confront. Their fists were clenched tight, ready to unleash their power at any moment.

Although, they highly doubt if their power would be sufficient for their current arduous quest.

It all began when Issei and Saitama just finished another day of work - busting out some giant monsters and old demons that had been terrorizing local populace on the other side of the world. When they were about to go home, however, Issei received a call from Rias, which turned out to be a distress call.

Issei and Saitama could only heard statics and muffled voices that sounded 'chaotic' from the other end of the line, which involved something like screams, whines, cries, and some other things about Haruka, and others with some liquors given by Gremory clan. Overall, Issei and Saitama could not really make out what happened through phone-call alone.

Here they were, standing right before the entrance of the Hyoudou Residence. Even when they arrived at the front gate, Issei and Saitama already had bad feelings that thing would not end up well.

When they walked closer towards the front door, they noted that the place around the house was rather… too quiet. However, they could hear voices from beyond the door - they were not sure what the voices were, but they sure did not like it.

Saitama's hand slowly approached the door handle, and when his hand was only an inch away, he glanced at Issei, who nodded, and Saitama prepared himself as he slowly and slightly opened the door, enough for the two to have a quick peek inside.

When their eyes landed at the sight, they could only describe it as _disastrous_.

Bodies were littered on the floor, furnitures and tables were either smashed or turned over, and the girls….

 _The girls…._

Issei and Saitama had to look away and close their eyes, unable to bear the pitiful sight of the occupants of the house. Their fists were clenched tight in regret and frustration.

How did things end up like this, within a day when the heroes had to go out to work for living?

They should have taken a better care of their homes and their loved ones, making sure that such catastrophe would not befall upon their abode.

Although…. When they peeked inside again, they wondered: why were there dozens of bottles of various liquors lying around, and why were there more guests in the house?

To precisely describe the scene: Haruka, Venelana, Grayfia, Serafall and Yasaka were sprawled on the staircase of the main hall. All of their faces were flustered red from…. What appeared to be alcohol intoxication, based from the booze bottles lying around them. What worried them most was the fact that the women were pretty much awake, and insanely drunk, as they would laugh, yell, cry, and talk in slurs. The slurs were so bad that Issei and Saitama could not make out the words those women were spouting unless they were closing in, which would be suicidal for them. Issei saw Rias was being cradled by her mother, who was playing and tweaking at her breasts, much to Rias' chagrin, as Venelana acted like…. _A child_.

While Akeno had it worse, Grayfia was forcing the fallen-devil hybrid to chug down a bottle of sake - the younger girl was powerless before the Strongest Queen.

As for the rest of the girls, it was kind of unbearable for Saitama and especially Issei to look at. Asia was completely knocked out - her pupils were in circles as her face was flushed. The poor girl was lying on the floor, few meters away from the staircase. Her clothes were disheveled, at least her body was not completely bare.

Actually, the other two of the church trio - Xenovia and Irina were laid not far from Asia. Both of them were leaning on the wall at the corner, Xenovia's head was down, her face was obscured by her blue bangs. Irina on the other hand, was hugging Xenovia's prone form like dear life, her smile was nervous, her eyes were empty, and she was trembling. White wings were unfurled and wrapped protectively around them. Truth to be fold, the fact that Irina's wings remained white was the only threshold of her sanity.

At the other corner, was the nekoshou siblings - Kuroka and Koneko. Their bodies were sprawled face-down and piled up on the floor. Kuroka's black scanty kimono were barely covering her rear, her hair was undone. Koneko on the other hand, were grumbling as her face was pressed on the cold floor, muttering something about exhaustion, dying and cannot drink anymore. Note that her speech was slurred as well.

Issei's eyes then caught the sight of….. Yuuto and Gasper?

He could not confirm their faces, but he could surely tell from their figures, as both of their bodies were hanging motionlessly on top of the railings on the second floor of the main hall. He was not sure what those two were doing; the only safe assumption was that Rias had called them for help earlier. Issei and Saitama could have sworn that they saw Yuuto and Gasper's souls were on the verge of leaving their bodies.

As for Rossweisse, the Valkyrie was resting on…. Haruka's laps, her face was flustered and tear-stricken as Haruka would drunkenly ran her hand tenderly on Rossweisse's silver locks, and giggling every now and then.

At the furthest corner, however, Issei and Saitama spotted Ophis - with her two tiny hands, chugging down a large bottle that was half her height, the kanji word 'Dragon Slayer' was written on the label of the said bottle. The dragon god exhaled as she finished drinking, her face was heavily flushed, but she was still holding herself together. As she nodded in satisfaction while gazing at the bottle in her arms, Ophis then floated and wobbly flew towards the kitchen - presumably to get some more.

They had seen enough; Issei and Saitama slowly closed the door, and sighed desperately. Saitama was pinching the bridge of his nose while Issei ran his hand over his face.

Saitama then reached to his cell-phone and dialed a number, while Issei warily stared at the front door before he picked up his own phone.

[Hello?]

Sirzechs Lucifer's voice was heard from Saitama's phone after few minutes.

"Hey, Sirzechs. Sorry for sudden call, but…." Saitama was barely keeping himself calm. "...What are your mother, your wife and Serafall doing in my house again?"

[...Oh, yes. That. I actually planned to tell you once you're done… Wait, have you already finished your mission with Ise-kun?]

"Yeah, pretty much. You can verify the whole thing with your crew in charge of transporting us. But anyway…" Saitama returned to the topic, as he rubbed his temple. "What on earth are Serafall, Venelana and Grayfia doing in my house, all drunk and shit?"

[...Drunk?]

Sirzechs' voice sounded dreadful that moment. "Yes, they're pissed drunk, and the whole house is a mess." Saitama informed.

[Err…. Okay. That's bad.]

Saitama could hear the overlord swallowing a lump from his end.

[Well, Serafall, my mother and Grayfia just wanted to visit, something about woman talk with your wife, but… I really don't expect for them to bring out the liquors…]

"Anyway, Sirzechs. Can you come over and pick them up?" Saitama peeked back inside the house for a second. "Seriously, the kids are being killed here."

At the other side of the line, Sirzechs became nervous upon the request. He knew that his wife was a light-weight when it comes to alcohol, a trait that was shared with his mother. From his experience through centuries, dealing with one of them being drunk was already quite a nightmare, but two of them at the same time…?

[Um, actually… I'm kind of busy at my office. Y'know, mountains of paperwork and all. I'll…. Let you know once I'm free to help you out. Until then, hang in there.]

Saitama narrowed his eyes at the reply. "...Sirzechs, are you bailing on me?"

[Err… Kssh! Kssh! Sorry, Saitama! Kssh! Line is- kssh! Getting bad! Kssh! I can't- kssh! Kssh! Hear you! Kssshhh!]

Saitama's eyes twitched at how bad Sirzechs tried to feign a bad reception from his side. Not long after that, the line went dead.

"...Son of a bitch." Saitama cursed at the phone before he turned to his son. "Any luck, Ise?"

"Well, Sona is on the way." Issei shut his phone close. "But she said she might take some time, since we're talking about Leviathan here, she had to prepare some… 'big guns', or so she said." he shrugged.

"...She's not bailing on you, is she?" Saitama asked with skeptical eyebrow.

"Come on, this is Sona we're talking about. Have faith in her." Issei gave his father a dry look, and the latter complied as he shrugged.

But when the boys looked inside again, they knew they could not just stay there and do nothing. "Well, probably Sona won't make it in time if this keeps up." Saitama said. "So…. you go ahead in first while I go to Sirzechs and Azazel for more back-up…" he then turned around and started to walk off, only to have his hand being grasped by Issei, effectively stopping him on his tracks.

"Um, Ise?" Saitama asked without looking back. "What are you doing? Can you let go? If you don't things might really go south beyond repair."

"Dad…." Issei said, with his hand remained firm on his father's. "...Why do I get to risk my life in there while you save your own ass?" he asked as his face was obscured by his brown locks.

"...Aren't we family?" When Issei looked up to meet his father's eyes - Saitama found his son's expression was sporting a bright, sincere smile. "No matter hardships, no matter the fight…. Let's stick together." he finished as he widened his smile.

Both men remained on their spots for exactly five seconds, then Saitama quickly went for a dash and Issei quickly wrapped his arms around Saitama's torso to prevent him from escaping. It became a tug-o-war between father and son.

"Let me go!" Saitama yelled as he attempted to pry himself free from Issei's grip. "Don't just suddenly emphasize our bonds as a family only at times like these! You can take punches and hits as good as I do, right?! You're better at dealing with them than I am, right?! So you go there and keep those monsters in line while I'm away!"

"Ha! Like hell!" Issei yelled back as he maintained his hold on his father. "I'm not going there alone! I know as well as you do how bad mom can go when she was drunk!" with one pull, he managed to turn around with his father in tow, reversing their positions in the process.

They were now apart, both of them were holding up their fists, ready for a brawl should the occasion arise. "I won't let you…" Issei threatened. "At very least I'm gonna take you with me to deal with the shitstorm inside there…"

Saitama blinked when he saw Issei's stance faltered, the words died in his mouth as his face started to lose its colours. Moreover, his eyes were not looking at him, more like _behind_ him to be precise.

Saitama slowly turned his head around, to see the front door had been opened, revealing the nightmarish visage of Haruka, Serafall, Venelana and Grayfia _grinning_ at him.

[S.a.i.t.a.m.a….~]

The women spoken in perfect unison that it was terrifying. Issei and Saitama did not need any more time to waste as they quickly attempted to run.

THUD!

Alas, somehow, the women's arms shot forward and managed to grab a hold of Saitama's legs before he could have run far enough, tripping him in the process. At the same time, just when Saitama was about to hit the ground, his arms reached out and grabbed a hold on Issei's legs, tripping the younger man in the process.

The boys struggled to get their legs free. But when they looked back, Saitama was stupefied at the strength of the women grabbing him. "This is ridiculous! How did they get so much power!?" Saitama thought incredulously as the women started to pull him towards them.

"Come here, honey…"

"It's rude to leave us ladies hanging…"

"Let's have fun together…"

[You can't escape]

It was like something out of horror story, as Saitama's face paled by seconds. He became more frantic in his struggle to break free, but to no avail, much to his confusion. "L-let go!" he cried desperately as his hands also refused to release Issei's legs, who was also struggling as hard.

"No, you let go!" Issei retorted to his father as his hands - his fingers dug into the ground beneath him as leverage for him to keep himself from being pulled.

Alas, despite the heroes' struggles, the… greatest enemy of men known as womenfolk did not stop on their attempts on dragging Saitama with Issei in tow towards them, into the house; all the while with their haunting giggles echoing in the darkness of the night.

Saitama was now too terrified to even scream, as his grip on Issei's legs tightened. However, it did not stop the women to keep dragging him closer and closer towards them. Meanwhile, Issei who was also dragged into the house could only screamed in his last defiance as he maintained his hold on the ground - his fingers raked the earth as his body was pulled steadily towards the house.

As their doom was approaching, the last thing Issei saw just before he finally entered the house, was the sight of Sona and her peerage, the Kuoh Student Council was carrying several restraining equipment - chains, cuffs, grabbing tools, torch, pitchforks, stun-guns and stun-rods,even rifles with tranquilizer darts, and many more.

On the other hand, Sona and her peerage could only see the look of horror on Issei and Saitama's faces as the two heroes were dragged into the house. "SONA! THE HOUSE! CALL EVERYONE-!"

Whatever last words Issei was about to say was stopped as soon as the door was shut. The devils outside the house could only close their eyes in grief and regret. "...We're too late." Sona let out a breath. They sure would never forget them.

Nobody truly knew the conclusion of that night. However, every single person that was directly involved vehemently refused to disclose any details, as they only gave one warning; alcohol could even bring out the most wicked evil of people.

* * *

 **Sorry if it looks rather crappy. This is just another attempt of mine to write something... that forces more imagination to work on its own. This chapter was written simply for the hell of it, you are free to believe whether this has any relevance to canon or not.**

 **Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. ^_^**


	10. Welcome to the Night Parade (I)

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **Hello again, dear readers! Here's another story of Fist Marks! As I have stated in my previous notes, this side story will also explore the developments that can lead to what I have planned for the main story. R &R! I don't own anything!**

 **Beta-ed by Omnifiction and i4md347h**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Welcome to the Night Parade (I)**

Issei Hyoudou felt something was _off_. He described the feeling as, 'there was nothing wrong at the first glances, but he definitely believed that there was something in the vicinity'.

It began in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, when Issei was on his way to the toilet. He paused on his track to feel someone's presence, and turned around to see there was nobody in the darkness of the hallway. Narrowing his eyes, he decided to turn on the lights to give a quick check for security measures, but when he turned the lights on, nothing was amiss.

Issei thought he was imagining things, but when he turned the lights off and closed his eyes to take a quick breath; for a moment - his other senses unconsciously heightened and that was when he felt it again: a presence, but not in his current location. There was someone moving around in the Hyoudou Residence.

Snapping his eyes open, Issei now believed that he was not imagining things, and chose to scurry around the house. He was currently at the second floor, and he heard faint noises from first floor beneath. Should he alerted the others? Should he went up to his father's room and asked for help?

It did not take long for Issei to choose to act alone. No need to raise a fuss over a simple burglar, and if he actually bothered to go back and ask the others for help, there was a chance that whoever intruding the house might disappeared and hard to track again.

This particular burglar was pretty stealthy.

Moreover, he did not sense any hostility from the presence, so it was safe to assume the intruder only wanted to steal some stuff at most.

Issei then quickly went downstairs without making any noise, and just in time to see a faint light flickered from the kitchen, followed with a sound of someone shutting the fridge. Issei then proceeded towards the kitchen and opened the fridge, to see that some drinks and fruits had been taken.

Of course, Issei thought of possibility that it was probably one of the girls, especially either Kuroka or Koneko, was up for a late-night snack. However, he dismissed the idea since the sisters were out for training in the mountain since yesterday, and would return by tomorrow afternoon; Le Fay was summoned by Vali team on their latest expedition, while the other girls were supposed to be asleep, and as far as Issei knew, he was the only person who was awake at the moment, thus a burglar was the only likely outcome.

He considered Ophis, but… the presence was too weak to be the dragon god.

Then again, Issei was actually a bit surprised that there was finally one burglar who was either brave or dumb enough to sneak into his house, that was now a _freaking mansion_.

But nonetheless, there was something off about the burglar. Issei made sure to quickly turn on the lights on, only to sense a movement from the stairs. The burglar just left the first floor and went to the second floor - his room's floor.

" _...Alright, two can play this game."_ Issei gave chase, and once he arrived at second floor, he turned on the lights to catch a glimpse of a shadow going up the stairs to the next floor.

Issei kept his pursuit as the shadow did not have any chance to hide into any room, since whenever it arrived on the next floor, Issei was already on its tail to switch the lights on, leaving it only one choice to ascend to the next floor to flee.

The game of cat-and-mouse kept going until Issei managed to corner the shadow at the rooftop garden, where the shadow did not have anywhere to hide.

"Alright, buddy. That's far enough." Issei - not looking even winded whatsoever - spoke. "Just give it up, and I probably can talk it out with the cops to not put you in jail."

The two did not do or say anything for few seconds, as Issei simply waited for an answer from the figure who remained hidden in the shadows. Then, Issei probably just imagined it, but he felt he saw something flickering in his vision for a second, before he focused his narrowed eyes at the hidden figure.

Issei could somewhat tell that the figure seemed surprised, and few seconds later, the shadow merely vanished from sight. However, Issei could have sworn that he saw a smile from that shadow. Feeling a sense of foreboding, Issei decided to look around the house one more time, only to see that the presence had completely gone.

For the rest of the night, Issei decided to remain awake and vigilant as he laid on his bed, in case the foreign presence decided to pay another visit.

oXo

The figure who attempted infiltration into Hyoudou Residence was snickering in amusement as he strode through Kuoh's dark street in the dead of the night.

The ability he gained through myths and stories, as well as he honed through centuries of life, had allowed him to sneak into people - friend or foe's fortress and left undetected at his own leisure.

That night, he decided to visit a certain house belonged to the famous Red Dragon Emperor and the princess of Gremory clan, due to a certain matter arising from his own home. He actually only intended to mainly observe, perhaps to pull some pranks on the occupants as well, which were consisted of beautiful women.

However, he was caught by surprise when a young man, the supposedly Red Dragon Emperor, managed to see through his stealth and illusion; and the Red Dragon had been rumoured to have lost access to most of his power.

"Interesting…" the figure muttered and chuckled as he finally vanished again into the darkness. He would have to alter his approach by his next visit.

* * *

"So you didn't catch this intruder?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow, as everyone in the dining table was discussing what transpired last night during breakfast in the next morning.

"Yeah…. Didn't expect the guy to just suddenly vanish into thin air… I don't get his deal at all." Issei shrugged as he nibbled on his toast.

"What, was that guy strong or something?" Saitama asked in curiosity. Truthfully, he thought that his son could easily apprehend a burglar in no time.

"No, I don't think so." Issei shook his head. "I did let him go… I mean, I was trying to be peaceful, not just punching people out, y'know? Besides, I didn't sense any hostility from the guy last night. So why should I go hostile on him when he meant no harm… I think?"

Everyone seemed to accept Issei's reasoning for the time being, then Akeno spoke up. "Ise-kun, can you tell us anything about the intruder's appearance?"

"Hm…" Issei hummed in thought. "He's… shrouded in shadows, but… I think we are dealing with a kid… or an elderly…" Issei gave a thoughtful look.

"How do you know?" Xenovia blinked in curiosity.

"The height." Issei replied. "And… Somehow his body was kind of hunched as well. Also…" Issei suddenly recalled one more detail. "I don't know if I was seeing things, but… The shape of his head didn't look normal…"

"Those details…" everyone turned to look at Rias who was deep in thought. "Someone with strange-shaped head, capable of sneaking around undetected… They sound familiar to me for some reason…" she placed her finger on her chin.

Everyone was also deep in thought, as the description that Issei gave was indeed familiar. In the end, the group decided to save the thoughts for later as the time went on. "I guess we'll think about this later… When Koneko and Kuroka returned from the mountains today..." Rias said as she dismissed the meeting. "For now, prepare for activities today…"

When everyone was about to wrap up, Ophis, Saitama and Issei suddenly turned their heads at the same direction.

"Um… Who are you?"

"How and when did you get in….? Wait, aren't you…?"

The others blinked at who the the trio were addressing, and when they turned to look at the source, their eyes were met with the sight of a short old man with a head that looked like a gourd, clad in traditional Japanese attire.

"Who are you?"

"How did you get into this house?"

Everyone quickly stood up in alarm as they prepared to engage should everything went sour. Even Saitama also stood up in more relaxed manner and took position to shield his wife.

"...You're that burglar from last night." Issei noted.

"Now, now…" the mysterious old man just placated while raising up his arms. "You can calm down. I come here in peace, no need to be feisty…" he said that while looking completely calm.

Everyone kept their eyes on the intruder for several moments. Rias and Issei glanced at each other for few seconds until the latter gave a nod. Returning the gesture in kind, Rias relaxed as she silently ordered her peerage to stand down with a wave of her hand. Nevertheless, everyone still kept their guards up.

The old man visibly relaxed as well, as he simply proceeded to seat himself on an empty spot at the dining table with fluid movements. "Sorry for the sudden intrusion, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Nurarihyon. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Everyone gave varying reactions; to be precise, only Rias, Akeno and Issei showed visible signs of recognition. "Nurarihyon… That Nurarihyon?" Rias muttered.

"What, like the old demon who tends to sneak into the house and steal people's stuff from it?" Saitama bluntly asked, albeit his tone was that of genuine curiosity.

"...Nurarihyon is one of the Four Great Youkais from all over Japan, Saitama-san." Akeno dutifully provided, ignoring the blatant show of disrespect.

"Yes, in flesh." the old Youkai - Nurarihyon only nodded sagely before he lightly cleared his throat. "Ah… Before we continue, can I have something to drink, please? I'm rather parched after the journey here."

Everyone glanced at each other briefly at the sudden request, but strangely enough, Haruka suddenly moved around to provide Nurarihyon a cup of tea. "Here you go, sir." she said with a polite smile.

However, everyone noted something was off with the picture.

Saitama eyed his wife for a second, but when he noticed that his wife had returned to his side, he simply narrowed his eyes back to Nurarihyon. When the Youkai met his eyes, he raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Tell me, are you the one who princess Yasaka has been fancying of?"

Everyone blinked at the mention of the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Saitama felt a slight chill on his spine as he could feel his wife's gaze upon him. "I…" Saitama managed to speak the correct words. "I am acquainted with Yasaka…"

Or perhaps they were not correct words either, because Saitama could tell that his wife was narrowing her eyes at him, causing him to let out a drop of sweat.

Rias cleared her throat, focusing everyone back from the slightly awkward atmosphere. "...In any case, it is an honour to meet one of the Four Great Youkai. I am Rias Gremory of Gremory clan, and these are my peerage, as well as my family. What is your intention coming here, Lord Nurarihyon?" she introduced herself, her peerage, and addressed the business at the same time.

"Well met." Nurarihyon nodded in return. "I came here to consult about the situation that is happening among our people. In fact, I believe Yasaka will arrange a meeting with you… Anytime by now." Nurarihyon spoke calmly as he enjoyed his brew.

As if on cue, a telepathic link suddenly appeared next to Rias' ear, in a form of Gremory's magic crest. "Yes?" Rias replied to whoever was calling. "Err… No, I am fine for a talk right now." she said as she glanced at Nurarihyon in mild surprise, which the latter returned with knowing smirk.

As Rias kept talking to the link, everyone sent wry looks at Nurarihyon, who only shrugged and gave a look that said, 'I told you so'.

"...Until then." When Rias turned off the link, she addressed her peerage. Lady Yasaka and several delegates would like to come over for a talk."

oXo

"Pardon the intrusion."

Per arranged, Yasaka and her daughter, Kunou - who apparently wished to come along, entered the Hyoudou Residence, along with three other Youkais as well.

The first one was a man with features of a ferret. The said person carried several scythes on him as he walked behind Yasaka and Kunou.

The second one was a dog - an actual large dog-like beast with its body surrounded by few puff of lightning clouds.

The third one was another animal, a young spotted cat with nine tails instead of one.

While everyone was taking in the new faces, Haruka was probably the most curious one, since it was her first time to encounter an actual youkai.

Before Saitama and Issei could have greeted Yasaka and Kunou, however, Ophis suddenly ran out towards the young princess with her open arms. "Kunou, Kunou."

Seeing the dragon god coming at her, Kunou's expression brightened as she welcomed the gesture. "Phis! It's good to see you again!" the two little girls began to hold hands together and danced merrily like children.

Issei and Saitama blinked at the spectacle before the latter whispered to the former. "...Since when did they become friends?"

"No clue." Issei simply whispered back.

"Oh, that's right. You two were hunting down Wendigos at America, weren't you?" Rias quipped in.

She then explained to Issei and Saitama - the friendship between the dragon god and the young fox began from Irina's idea to build a shrine for Ophis as a dragon god. The girls decided to consult Yasaka, and the latter sent Kunou to assist in building Ophis' shrine. After some work, Kunou and Ophis somehow became friends, probably because they seemed around the same age.

On that note, Ophis' shrine was built and located in a vacant room on the fifth floor. Sometimes Ophis would station herself there to receive some prayers and give blessings whenever she was needed.

"So… Does Kunou know…?" Issei asked Rias about Kunou's knowledge about Ophis true identity.

"No, Kunou only knows Ophis as 'Phis' - a descendant of a famous dragon who would like to ascend into godhood. Let's keep that way, okay?" Rias requested, which Issei replied with an understanding nod. After all, should Kunou learned about Ophis' identity, the former might felt uncomfortable and things between them would go sour in the long run.

"Then, I guess Haruka has met her…?" Saitama asked regarding his wife. As if to answer his question, the young fox turned and bowed to the Hyoudou matriarch.

"It is good to see you again, Haruka-san." Kunou greeted politely.

"It's good to see you again, Kunou-chan. How are you?" Haruka replied with a kind smile.

"I am doing well, thank you! I am also happy to see Ise and Saitama again!" Kunou beamed as she waved her hand happily at the two men in question, whom in return also waved back.

Haruka smiled at the interaction when she noticed another person next to Kunou. "So you are Saitama's wife." she turned to see a woman she deemed as mature version of Kunou. "This is our first time meeting, Haruka Hyoudou-san. I am Yasaka, mother of Kunou. Thank you for looking after my daughter during her last visit here." she bowed politely.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's my pleasure to have a good girl like Kunou around." Haruka returned the gesture before she spoke again. "...I heard that you are acquainted with my husband. Is it true?"

"Oh, yes." Yasaka's face somewhat brightened at the mention of the man. "We'd been in your husband's care before, and we are forever indebted to him." the fox said as she sent a fond glance at Saitama.

"Oh dear, I am sorry. I actually haven't introduced myself properly, have I?" Haruka said with 'sheepish' smile. "My name is Haruka Hyoudou. Saitama's _wife_. Nice to meet you."

For those who were spectating the introduction between the two mothers, Issei and Saitama particularly sweatdropped as they could have sworn that they heard an emphasis when Haruka said the 'w' word. Others were either amused or worried at the exchange between Haruka and Yasaka, as the latter narrowed her eyes slightly while maintaining her smile.

A hundred points for those who could tell who were amused and who were worried.

Fortunately, Nurarihyon cleared his throat to end the awkward tension. "As you lot have known Lady Yasaka and Kunou here, I believe this is your first time meeting my aides."

"This one here is Retsuza, a Kamaitachi." Nurarihyon gestured at the ferret youkai.

"...This one here is Kumowatari." the old youkai then gestured at the lightning beast.

"...And last but not least, Magari, the Nekomata matriarch." Nurarihyon finally introduced the nine-tailed Nekoshou.

"It is our honour to meet the youkai leaders." Rias then diplomatically replied in kind. "Shall we get to the topic, then?"

Just when everyone - sans Haruka, Ophis and Kunou; who were in the kitchen, preparing snacks and refreshments together - has prepared themselves in the meeting room, Kuroka and Koneko barged in, having returned from their mountain training.

"Hey, hey, hey~! What's everybody doing here, nya? We're back~!" Kuroka greeted jovially while dragging the exasperated Koneko behind her.

Those from Occult Research Club only sighed at the black cat's antics, while the youkai delegates only watched in mild amusement. When Kuroka and Koneko noticed Yasaka and several other unfamiliar faces, they came to feel a bit awkward. "Err…. I take this is a rather bad time, nya?" the former asked wryly.

However, when Kuroka's eyes landed on the young, spotted nine-tailed cat, her eyes widened as her body froze.

Magari on the other hand, only squinted her eyes as her mouth twitched into a cheshire smile. "Ufufufu…. It is good to see you alive and well, Kuroka."

Apparently having to know each other, Kuroka straightened herself up, a notion that Koneko automatically followed, as they bowed respectfully at the cat youkai. "It has been a long time, Magari-sama, nya. It is good to see you in good health as well."

Those who had known Kuroka only blinked owlishly at the out-of-character behaviour from the black cat, especially Issei and Saitama. "...Who are you and what have you done to Kuroka?" the latter asked with incredulous tone, in which Kuroka only replied with a dry look, while the others had to suppress giggles at the remark.

Issei kind of had to agree with his father and everyone there; his mother might be one thing, but Kuroka never appeared as someone who could behave herself before most of authority figures.

When Magari laid her eyes upon Koneko, her eyes widened in curiosity. "Tell me, Kuroka. I take that she is your little sister?"

Koneko took a step forward as she got the initiative to introduce herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Magari-sama. I am Koneko Toujou, formerly Shirone, Kuroka-nee-sama's younger sister."

"Well met." Magari nodded in approval. "But enough with that. I believe we are getting a bit side-tracked, no?"

oXo

"So… these youkais under your care, don't agree to join the Alliance?" Rias inquired, after hearing the story from Nurarihyon, which had been testified by Yasaka as well.

"Yes, they don't." Nurarihyon nodded solemnly. "In addition, they also had gained some allies from Yasaka's side who possess a similar mindset. The latest intel we got is that the rebels are isolating themselves outside our respective territories, planning an all-out rebellion."

"Thus, we would like to request aid to suppress the rebels." Yasaka finished.

"A question." Rias held up her hand. "While we are more than happy to help, why us specifically? If you send your request to the Alliance directly, I am sure there are many people on our calibre, if not better, who would be willing to help out."

The youkais, especially Yasaka and Nurarihyon, only nodded in understanding at Rias' reasons, the old man youkai only sipped on his tea again.

"Few reasons, actually." Nurarihyon exhaled lightly. "First is because Lady Yasaka and the young Kunou are more familiar with you lot, as for the second… You piqued my interest."

At everyone's questioning glances, Nurarihyon's smile widened a little bit as he elaborated further. "I've been hearing a lot from Azazel, as well as other leaders about how much role and accomplishments that Rias Gremory and her comrades had achieved, even before the Alliance had been forged. Simply put, I'd like to see it for myself, if the whole thing about your group is the real deal."

 _So it was something akin to a test._

Everyone more or less thought of the similar lines, as Rias nodded to take in Nurarihyon's reasoning, before she addressed the youkai leader once again. "Then, moving on. Can we know the reason behind this rebellion from your own people?"

This time, there was the slightest grimace on Nurarihyon's features, as well as the other youkais who followed him. "...The Five Great Families."

Everyone blinked and subconsciously glanced at Akeno, who was part of Himejima clan, one of the said great families alongside with Nakiri, Kushihashi, Doumon, and Shinra.

"Around hundreds of years ago, we youkai once made a certain pact with Himejima clan, witnessed by the other four great clans as well." Nurarihyon then began to elaborate. "I won't bother to go to details, because the Himejima broke the said pact, resulting enormous damage to some youkai clans. Ever since then, the youkais have lost the trust towards Himejima clan, as well as the other four clans by extension. Some of them even harboured grudges and have pulled several failed attempts of raids and assassination, resulting some bloody history."

The mood in the room darkened a little as Nurarihyon told the story. "We actually were considering to ally ourselves with the Three Factions of Christianity when I heard the news about the Treaty, but… If I am not mistaken, Grigori had extended their offer to the Five Great Families, correct?"

"Yes, I have heard of this before…" Akeno nodded thoughtfully. "Due to the increasing number of those born with Sacred Gears, the Five Great Families would receive Grigori's assistance to harness and control the power of Sacred Gear possessors."

"Precisely, and the fact that the Himejima clan is the part of the Alliance is not well-received by the youkais who still harbour resentment towards them. Especially those who had received the most damage from the broken pact between us and the Himejima clan." Nurarihyon concluded, confirming Akeno's thoughts.

"Lord Azazel has come to talk with Yamamoto Gorozaemon and Jinno Waruguro as well…" Yasaka then took over. "...When us leaders decided to unite and join the Alliance…. Apparently some of our people do not agree with us."

The room fell into silence as the occupants of Hyoudou Residence took in the information that was given to them. Issei and Rias' eyes met for few seconds, and they nodded to each other. They already had their answers for some time now.

"Very well, we will help you." Rias and Issei straightened up their postures to show their sincerity. "Please tell us everything we should know."

"Thank you." Nurarihyon smiled, while the other youkais also nodded briefly in approval.

"With that out of the way…" the Nekomata leader, Magari, finally gave her two-cents. "I believe young Kuroka and her younger sister should come along as well."

Everyone perked up when the Nekoshou sisters were mentioned, with the latter gave questioning look at the elder Nekomata. "I think it's a high-time for you two to give _her_ a visit."

Everyone did not say anything when they saw Kuroka and Koneko stiffened at Magari's words. Few moments later, Kuroka and Koneko hesitantly glanced to one another, before they nodded in agreement. "I… We will go, nya." Kuroka bowed her head at her elderly.

"Good. I have taken care of everything regarding the service… I will inform you about the location later." Magari smiled at the sisters, who gave their gratitude in return.

Everyone, especially Issei wondered about what the Nekomatas were talking about. However, for some reason Issei thought that he would find out soon enough.

* * *

It had been the night before departure. Issei found himself waking up on his bed, with Rias and Asia sleeping by his sides. Taking a deep, silent breath, Issei's thoughts drifted to the meeting with the youkai earlier.

After the delegations had returned to their respective living quarters, everyone who had been appointed to go: Issei, Kuroka and Koneko for obvious reasons; as well as the rest of the Occult Research Club. Sona Sitri and her peerage would remain at Kuoh to look after the fort, along with Saitama.

During the rest of the night, Issei noticed that Kuroka was rather quiet, which was very out of character unlike her usual playful self; the fact that was also shared by Koneko as well. Some of the members wanted to approach the sisters out of concern, but alas, Kuroka merely waved them off with her usual cheshire smile, and after Koneko politely asked to give them some space, everyone relented and could only hope for the best.

Then here Issei was, after carefully left his room without waking Rias and Asia, he walked towards the rooftop garden to get some fresh air. It was still around middle of the night, and when Issei exposed himself to the night air, his eyes landed upon the visage of Kuroka sitting at the edge of the garden - her back on him, as the Nekoshou was looking up at the moon with her two tails twitching every now and then.

Issei decided to approach, as he closed the distance between him and the black cat, the said cat's ears twitched, signifying her awareness of his arrival. "Enjoying the view, nya?" she turned her head to him while sporting playful expression.

Issei blinked at the greeting, but he shrugged it off. "...Guess you can say that." he replied as he took a seat next to Kuroka.

The two then fell into silence, and it actually took few good minutes until Kuroka was the first to give into the unbearable atmosphere. "You're… not gonna ask, nya?"

Issei glanced at Kuroka for few seconds, before he returned his gaze upon the night. "Are you gonna answer?"

"Well, err…. Maybe not, nya." Kuroka shrugged in return. Issei hummed with a small nod, and the two returned to another silence, with the man simply wanted to give the woman the space and time she needed.

It took another few minutes when Kuroka finally exhaled and decided to let it out. "I and Shirone… are going to visit our mother, nya."

Issei blinked at Kuroka's word. He turned to address her, but whatever retort that was about to come out was held when he saw the black cat's melancholic expression.

"Our mother, Fujimai… was a Nekoshou as well, nya. To be honest, Shirone got her looks from her…" Kuroka tried to chuckle, but failed miserably. "...Our mother fell in love with a human male, but things did not work out in the long run. By the time Shirone was born, she never got to know her father…"

For some reasons unknown and lost through the course of history, every female Nekomata would give birth to a pureblood Nekomata as well, regardless of the race of their mates.

"...What's your father like?" Issei decided to ask.

"Nothing much, as far as I know, nya." Kuroka gave nonchalant shrug. "He was never around much. By the time I had grown enough to actually remember him, he's already gone. No news whether he's dead or not."

"I see…" Issei looked down, slightly feeling bad for some reason. When he looked at Kuroka's face, however, he noticed that there was a hint of resentment in her hazel eyes; that meant it was the cue for him to drop the subject. "Well, anyway… Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"You bet, nya." Kuroka's playful expression returned to her in a heartbeat, though her cheeky grin suddenly faded into a small smile. "Although…. Ise-chin, can I ask you a favour?"

"...What is it?"

"Will you… Accompany us visiting our mother's grave, nya?"

When Kuroka looked up to meet Issei's stare, she quickly looked away. "It's just…. Maybe Shirone would like it, nya… You know." A faint pink was dusting her cheeks.

"...Sure thing. If both of you don't mind me, of course." Issei replied with a smile after few seconds.

"Thanks, nya." Kuroka's smile widened as she thanked the boy. Then, she looked down, her gaze darting away, as the blush on her cheek slightly darkened.

"What is it now, Kuroka?" Issei tilted his head, sensing that the black cat still had something else to say.

Kuroka looked around one more time, as if making sure that there was nobody else around. "Can you… Pat my head, nya?" Kuroka bashfully asked while refusing to look at Issei's face.

Issei blinked once, then twice. Then he found his own face warmed up. That moment, he found the supposedly temptress cat so… _adorable_ , somewhat.

"Err… Yeah, sure." Issei then began to softly pat the crown of Kuroka's black locks.

The black cat purred in pleasure on the ministration, her ears would twitch everytime Issei's fingers touched her right spots. She revelled in the softness and the firmness of Issei's palm, the warmth his hand was exuding, and she recalled the moments when her mother would pat her head in the past.

Issei found himself enjoying the moment as well. Unlike the usual Kuroka who would appear seductive, she was currently so cute. He could not help but to treat Kuroka like he was doing now. "There, there…" he ended up saying those words, getting caught in the moment.

That was the moment when Kuroka's ears twitched one last time, her eyes widened upon hearing those words.

 _There, there… That's a good girl…_

Suddenly, an image of another man flashed in her mind. A man with a smile… No, a sneer that promised her and her sister a comfortable, decent life, for a price - _the face of a devil_.

Issei suddenly found Kuroka pushed his hand away, her head was also inclined in order to make a distance from the said hand. For a second, Issei could have sworn that Kuroka was panicking, with a drop of sweat rolling down her temple.

"Kuroka… You okay? Something wrong?" Issei asked in worry.

Suddenly, Kuroka's playful demeanor returned. "Nyahaha~! Nothing, nothing. Your hand just felt so good that I got too excited, nya~!" she then stood up and skipped her steps towards the entrance. "Welp, I guess that's all for tonight, for me, nya. Good night, Ise-chin!" she waved at Issei before her figure finally vanished into the house, leaving the confused Issei alone.

oXo

Unknown to Issei, Kuroka was not just skipping through the hallway, she was running. While she still had enough composure to keep the sound of her steps as low as possible, her arms, which were clutching her own frame, were trembling. From outside perspective, it was as if Kuroka was running away from something.

She quickly made her way towards the bathroom. She reached towards the sink, and immediately splashed her face with cold water for few times. She then ran her wet hands through her hair, making sure that she would cool her head off.

With one deep breath, she finally felt herself calming down, and she slowly turn off the water valve. Looking at the mirror, she saw her own face which was… scared. She looked down at her hand that was still slightly trembling.

 _Yes, yes… That's the spirit, my dear Kuroka…_

 _You Nekoshous are truly fine specimens…._

 _Let us proceed to the next test…_

Kuroka hissed as she closed her eyes, her mind doing its best to banish the memory of _that_ devil, the memory of the time she spent in that hell-hole.

" _Why do I suddenly remember, now of all times?!"_

She bit her lower lip, enough to draw a small trail of blood. Her nails - claws, dug into the ceramic as her hands clung on the sink. With another deep breath, Kuroka finally walked out of the bathroom, heading towards her own room. "I'm not going back… It's all behind me now."

However, despite what she told to herself, a part of her felt that was not truly the case, as Kuroka finally retired for the night.

* * *

 **That's the wrap for now! Sorry for the short chapter, but I do plan for a longer one in the next update. As you can see, this story will explore about Kuroka's character development. I don't know what canon Kuroka had gone through, so I decided to do my own twist of her past in this story.**

 **On another note, since I don't have much knowledge about the chronological order of events in DxD, the arcs and stories that I put in here might not necessarily follow the same order in canon, the story's objective will be more focused on character development if anything - so I can make some solid foundation for my original twist in the main story.**

 **Constructive reviews are welcomed while flames are not. Ahsoei, over and out.**


	11. Welcome to the Night Parade (II)

**One-Punch DxD: The Fist Marks**

* * *

 **It's been a long time, my dear readers! First of all, I have to say that this chapter ended up a LOT longer than I originally intended. It's just that I couldn't find a proper/right moment and scene to end this one. But on the other hand, perhaps this youkai arc might end sooner than I originally intended. So, without further ado, R &R! WARNING: Lots of references and Easter Eggs inside.**

 **Co-written with i4md347h**

 **Beta-ed by Brotherhoof12**

 **Check out their stories!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Welcome to the Night Parade (II)**

 _The sound of rushing water could be heard as a stream of cold liquid was drenching a naked woman confined in a middle of a room._

 _The room was covered in tiles - in fact, said room was rather like a shower, with a simple stool set in the middle of the room with a woman sitting on it._

 _The woman's black hair was sticking on her pale skin as cold water drenched her from head to toe; on top of her hair was a pair of shriveled cat ears, twitching ever so slightly for every now and then as she braced herself for the steady coldness washing her frame - she was a Nekoshou._

 _The nekoshou was freezing - and no matter how hard she tried to move and produce any body heat, the straps and chains that bound her kept preventing her from doing so. Her arms were outstretched, her body was forced to take a fetal position as her torso was bound together to her legs, exposing her back completely to the unforgiving cold shower. Her two tails instinctively pressed themselves against her skin, but those alone were far from capable of giving her warmth._

 _She let out a shuddered breath - she had lost count of how long she had been subjected to this torture. Her body shivered from the sheer cold exposed to her bare skin, the enchantment placed on her bindings prevented her from using her mysteries to warm herself up._

 _She took a deep breath, gathering as much energy as possible to keep herself awake - she knew that she would be in danger if she fell asleep in such state. Her body temperature was low enough that she could see her own breath as she exhaled._

 _She distracted herself from the cold by cursing her tormentor in her mind - her 'master', to be precise. Said 'master' told her that it was another part of her next subject, the notion that she could not help but scoff at; she knew that her current situation was more like a punishment, she knew well that her 'master' was not pleased with her performance in previous 'experimentation' her master had pulled on her._

 _But then again, she found herself somewhat calming down when her mind drifted off to her little sister, the little sister that she deeply cared about. So long as she went along with her master's whims, as sick as they seem, she and her little sister could still have a future._

 _Thus, she kept doing whatever it took to keep herself awake during the hard, cold shower. Taking deep breaths, clenching her hands into fists every now and then, even shivering her cold body every now and then despite her binds - anything that could keep her from succumbing to the torture. She had to stay focus._

 _However, when she thought that her torture was bad enough, the cold water was not everything just yet._

 _The cold water was just a steady shower on her back. Then, suddenly the shower intensified - the pressure became stronger, hitting painfully on her skin; the stream also increased, making it feel like rain; the temperature had gone even lower, making her feel like being pelted by ice water, her skin starting to burn from the sheer cold._

 _In addition, the room was previously dead silent was suddenly filled with a random loud, ear-shattering noises - like sounds produced from some terrible, musical orchestra. The Nekoshou was spooked out of her wits, as her heart began to beat against her ribcage. She wanted to jump in surprise, but she could not do so as her binds kept her in place._

 _The multiple stimuli - the sudden cold and noises, finally overwhelmed her as the nekoshou screamed in agony._

oXo

Kuroka woke up with a loud gasp, her face was pressed on the pillow on top of her bed. She was lying nude on her stomach and forgoing her blanket, leaving her back exposed to the cold air of early morning. The fact that she slept without clothes out of habit was kind of a rude wake-up call for her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she relaxed to the bed. _"It's just a dream..."_ and she pushed herself up few minutes later. She was covered in sweat, which drenched the bedsheet beneath her. Kuroka frowned at her current state - she just had to remember those hellish days when she thought that she had found something that resembled 'peace'.

Kuroka sat up on her bed, her hand ran through her sweat-drenched black locks as she sighed in annoyance. Why did she have to remember? She had been fine ever since she escaped from that devil's territory. She never had issues in dealing with men, given the time she had spent with Vali team and Gremory group. She was supposed to have put her past behind her.

Perhaps it was because of her budding feelings towards a certain Red Dragon Emperor? As much as she was reluctant to admit, Kuroka found herself attracted to Issei more then she had expected. In fact, what she requested from him from last night was a clear indication that she wanted to be somewhat closer to him.

Was it just how the world, or perhaps the universe screwing with her life? Telling her that Nekoshou, especially like her who had stained her hands with blood, could not have a peaceful life without conflict?

Letting out another breath, Kuroka hopped off her bed to have an early _warm_ shower.

* * *

It was the morning of the departure, after taking care of morning rituals, as well as other necessary preparations for their mission trip, the Occult Research Club was on the way to the Kuoh train station.

The trip towards the station was rather… pensive. The tense atmosphere was mainly due to Kuroka and Koneko. Despite the effort Kuroka had put into her jovial smile, everyone knew that the black cat's mind was (at least) in turmoil, if the broken sink in the bathroom they found in the morning was any indication.

After all, if Magari's words were anything, Kuroka and Koneko would have to confront something… _personal_ by the time they went to their destination.

Fortunately, perhaps Kuroka's experience in putting up a front was helpful enough for Irina, Asia and the other girls to start a light conversation to brighten the mood during the entire trip towards the station. "...Rather about me, Ise-chin… Aren't you hot in there?" Kuroka glanced mischievously at Issei's choice of attire, which was consisted of a blue jersey.

The weather was nowhere hot, but one could tell that something else had been worn beneath the jersey. Issei's faint blush only supported the point. "...I'm fine." the boy said while refusing any eye contact.

"You know that you have to take that jersey off soon enough, right?" Rias asked, with some mischief and amusement in her eyes. In return, her husband only grumbled, but did not say anything that denied her point.

The rest of the trip was spent with everyone giggling at Issei's misfortune in regards of his thought about his attire.

When they finally arrived at the lobby of the station, they were greeted by two individuals. One was a young woman in her late teens, possessing a long black hair, violet eyes - overall, a beautiful face befitting an ideal Japanese woman, not unlike Akeno. She was clad in a simple, modest light purple kimono with floral patterns.

The other one was a young boy clad in Kuoh Academy uniform. However, apparently one of the two was not completely unfamiliar to the group that just arrived at the station.

Rias and Akeno were the first to react as their eyes widened in recognition. Moreover, the latter's eyes started to tear up as the woman in kimono spoke up with gentle smile across her features. "Hello, Akeno. It has been a while." she greeted.

"Suzaku nee-sama!" Akeno delightfully greeted as she ran up and tackled the older woman into a hug, eliciting several looks from the others.

Seeing the two women bonding, or more like reuniting, Issei was the first to turn to Rias for answers, the notion followed by the others as well. "Um…?"

"I'll explain." Rias simply replied with a wink as she also stepped forward. "It's good to see you again, Suzaku-san." she greeted the woman.

"Ah, Rias-san. It's good to see you again as well." the woman - Suzaku replied in kind after she broke off from Akeno's hug. "I take you take your comrades along with you?" she asked as her eyes peered over the Occult Research Club.

"Indeed." Rias nodded and she proceeded with the introduction. "Everyone, allow me to introduce you the current head of Himejima clan, Suzaku Himejima."

"She is also my cousin." Akeno added.

After receiving several comprehensive looks from the others, the newly introduced woman then spoke for herself. "It is a pleasure to meet you all, everyone. My name is Suzaku Himejima of Himejima clan. I will be in your care."

Then, the woman stepped aside, allowing the young boy - who was with her earlier to step forward and introduce himself as well. "Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Ouryuu Nakiri, a first year of Kuoh Academy, as well as the heir of Nakiri clan. Feel free to call me Ouryuu." he finished his introduction with a polite bow.

Then, the first years of the Occult Research Club were the ones to respond.

"...Nakiri-san." Ravel greeted with a nod.

"Hello, Nakiri-kun..." Gasper greeted meekly as usual.

"So, you are joining us, Kohchin?" Koneko quipped.

"Hello again, you three." Ouryuu - Ouryuu _Kohchin_ Nakiri, to be precise, smiled at the trio greeting him, before lightly scowled at the white-haired nekomata. "...And Koneko-san, will you _please_ stop calling me that? You know it's the reason why I'm preferred my middle name to be left out." he said exasperatedly.

Koneko only shrugged in return, while everyone looked curious at the interaction. Issei then spoke up. "So… you three know this guy?" he asked towards his three juniors.

"Ise-sama, I think you've ran in to him few times, correct?" Ravel carefully reminded.

Issei stared at the first-year boy for few seconds until his eyes lighted up in realisation. "Yeah… I do remember seeing you few times at school, and… You're from Nakiri clan?" he said as he remembered about one of Five Great Families.

"Yes, I am." Ouryuu replied sheepishly. "...And I guess it's not that strange to easily miss me. After all, I don't really like to stand out. But more importantly…" he then straightened up his posture and stood right in front of Issei. "...Issei Hyoudou-senpai, the Red Dragon Emperor. It is an honor for me to finally be able to meet you."

Everyone stared at the sudden shift in Ouryuu's demeanor, as he kept going with his speech. "I have been keeping on tabs on your feats and achievements, and I was truly touched when I watched your match with Sairaorg Bael. The passion and spirit you put into the fight really moved my soul." Ouryuu then put his hand across his chest in respect. "I am looking forward to work with you, as well as learning more things from and about you from now on. If you do need any of my power, please don't hesitate to ask. I have confidence that I can - and will help you with my utmost."

After Ouryuu had finished with his speech, Issei blinked once, and twice, then trice, before he finally managed to give a response. "Err… Yeah… Sure. Looking forward to work with you too, Ouryuu." he said while extending his hand for a shake.

Ouryuu's face brightened as he stared at Issei's offered hand, then he gave the hand a firm shake. "Yes, I will be in your care, senpai!" he said with a wide smile.

As Ouryuu proceeded to talk more with his fellow first years and other members of Occult Research Club, Issei could not help but stare at his new junior. So far, his only male junior was Gasper, but then again, the dhampir's personality was still… a bit much to be desired. In honesty, Ouryuu's attitude was kind of refreshing.

"Quite an interesting fellow, isn't he?" Rias whispered to Issei's ears, watching Ouryuu's interaction with her peerage.

"Mmhm… He's a good kid."

"I've been hearing rumors that Ouryuu-kun sees you as a role-model, Issei-san." Suzaku put her two-cents, receiving a look from Issei in the process. "That's just how much your performances and feats have impacted him." she said with amused smile.

"Come on, I'll fill you in about Suzaku-san and Ouryuu-san in the train later. Right now, we need to get to the platform." Rias patted on Issei's shoulder, and the group moved on.

oXo

Meanwhile, back in Hyoudou Residence - the house in that late morning was rather quiet, considering most of the occupants had set out for a mission outside of the town.

The only sounds that filled the house came from the living room, where a television was showing some random shows and advertisements. On a couch across the screen, were a married couple enjoying each other's company. While on the other couch next to where the couple was resting, Le Fay was reading a book, with Ophis sitting next to her, absent-mindedly watching the television while eating her morning snacks.

Saitama was lying on his side; his head was rested on his wife's lap. Said wife was holding a small stick, which was being dug softly into the man's ear. As Haruka was cleaning her husband's ear, she took the ear-cleaner out just in time when she felt her husband stir on her lap.

"...Something on your mind?" Haruka asked while sporting a serene smile on her face, her hands were wiping the wax off the ear-cleaner with a piece of tissue paper, before she continued cleaning Saitama's ear.

Enjoying the ministration from his wife, Saitama let out a breath as a small smile crept upon his lips. "Just… a hunch."

"Tell me about it." Haruka said as she just finished cleaning one of her husband's ears.

During Haruka and Saitama's entire conversation, both Le Fay and Ophis pretty much chose to leave them alone; out of courtesy from the former, and indifference from the latter.

"I got a feeling… that something funny will happen to Issei later."

That statement garnered a curious glance from Le Fay and Ophis, before they returned to their own business.

"Is that so?" Haruka's smile widened slightly as she blew lightly on her husband's now-clean ear. "Now, turn around. I'm going to work on the other side." she finished with a peck on Saitama's temple.

"Yes, yes…" Saitama replied as he turned around in his sleep.

oXo

During the train-trip towards the outside of the town, Issei was told about Suzaku Himejima and Ouryuu Nakiri. Regarding the latter, Ouryuu was one of the most talented among those who possessed special power, and if the rumors were anything, the young teen was a force to be reckoned with.

As for Suzaku Himejima, she was one of the few members of the clan, if not the only one, who cared about Akeno since childhood, regardless of heritage. She expressed her regrets that she could not do anything to help Akeno during the night when the girl lost her mother to assassination attempt by the previous clan-head; and ever since that time, Suzaku had been in contact with Rias to keep tabs on Akeno's growth. Now that she had earned the position to lead the clan, she could create bridges and connections to reach towards different races, clans, factions, etc. The prime example was the Himejima clan's recent agreement with Grigori.

Returning to the present time, Suzaku and Ouryuu had volunteered themselves to represent the Five Great Families in helping the Alliance in subjugating the Youkai rebels.

Currently, Suzaku was sitting with Issei and Rias, Ouryuu were sitting and talking with his fellow first years, the church trio were happily talking with each other, while Akeno was talking with Rossweisse - the two were getting along rather well they sometimes would discuss about magic studies from time to time.

"...I am so glad that Akeno has been surrounded by wonderful friends." Suzaku smiled pleasantly before she turned her gaze at Issei. "...And knowing that Akeno is in relationship with the current Red Dragon Emperor… Perhaps I can take it easier…" she smiled knowingly at the boy, who lightly blushed in the process while receiving some playful jabs from Rias.

"Akeno can be quite handful sometimes, but…." Then, Suzaku then took a small bow to Issei. "...Please take good care of her, Issei-san."

"Ah, please, you don't need to do that." Issei waved his hands politely. "Akeno has also been looking out for me, as well as others. I only treat her as she deserves."

Everything looked fine as Suzaku smiled in return. However, despite the light conversation happening inside the train, Issei could not help but feel a little worried at Kuroka, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for a while, staring out of the window with forlorn look on her face. Even Koneko, who would usually sit on Issei's lap whenever she had a chance, opted to sit by her sister's side, offering support through her presence.

Rias, perhaps everyone as well, noticed where Issei was looking and could not help but sigh inwardly in understanding. The trip might be longer than they expected.

* * *

When they reached at the mountainous area outside of Tokyo, the gang met up with a small encampment of the youkai representatives at the edge of the forest area. They were Nurarihyon, as well as the same entourages who accompanied him during their first meeting - Retsuza, Kumowatari and Magari; who were accompanied by several youkais of their respective races. The lesser youkais possessed similar appearances, albeit their presences were foreshadowed by their leaders.

"Hey there, youngsters." Nurarihyon greeted with his underlings acknowledged everyone's arrival with a firm nod.

"Lord Nurarihyon." Rias greeted in kind, followed by the rest of her group. "It is good to have you with us."

"Let's start with the planning, shall we? After all, we don't have much time to waste." However, when Nurarihyon's eyes landed upon Issei's choice of attire, he quirked an eyebrow. "By the way, Red Dragon Emperor…. What's with the outfit? It looks…. Stuffy."

Issei paused on his trek, his lips were pursed as he was not in mood for answering the particular enquiry. His friends, however, were looking at him expectantly.

"Now that he mentioned it, I've been wondering as well…" Suzaku put in her two cents. "No offence, but the outfit… is a bit out of place, if you don't mind me say so." she tried to lay it out as polite as she could.

"I think the jersey is fine as it is." Ouryuu quipped, drawing looks from everyone, especially a grateful one from Issei. "Honestly, I believe that suit is useful for activity like this. It's easy to move around..."

"There, so he says. Thank you, Ouryuu." Issei said to his junior in rather… hurried fashion, as he just wanted to move the topic forward. "Now, shall we-"

"...However, I am curious about the bulging mass beneath the jersey. What is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Issei bit his lips as he took a deep breath, reigning in his emotion after Ouryuu just _had to_ drop the bomb on him. He gave him a quick stink-eye (much to Ouryuu's confusion) before he sent a pleading look to Rias. "Rias, can I keep this on?"

"No, off with that." Rias replied with amused smile, which was followed by the others as well.

"Come on… I mean, don't we have something else better to do?" Issei began to argue.

"We've talked about this."

"But-!"

"This is a perfect opportunity for you to come to terms with it. Now take those off, or I'm going to tell your mother."

" _Oh, that's just dirty…"_ Issei's lips tightened as he took a deep breath in resignation. Under everyone's curious gaze, Issei finally decided to just go with it. _"...Fuck it."_

As soon as the jersey was off his body, everyone was given the sight of Issei in his red new suit - a red jumpsuit with white cape, gloves and boots.

Everything was silent for a good minute, then two, until…

"Pff…!"

Everyone blinked and immediately looked around for the source of that _snort_. Then, they found Nurarihyon was shaking. However, before anyone could have raised any question, the Youkai Leader suddenly burst out with laughter.

"-AHAHAHAHAHAHA...!"

With Nurarihyon laughing his ass off, Issei found his eyes twitching. He knew the reaction was to be expected, but listening to it was still getting on his nerves. He looked around, and glad that at least the other youkai had some decency to settle with giggles and chuckles.

Issei turned to his friends to see that all of them were visibly trying their hardest to hold down their laughter - based on their trembling body, bitten lips, flushed amused face, and refusal to make any eye contact. Issei fixated his glare at them, giving them the worse stink-eye he could possibly muster. He desired to make them guilty at least for enjoying his hellish suffering, refusing to let them get away with such treacherous humiliation.

However, none of his friends had even budge a bit from his guilt-instilling glare.

"...AHAHAHAHAHAHA! My boy, what are you-pfff-wearing? I mean... I've lived a long time, but in all my years, I've never seen anything as ridiculous as your costume!" Snickering, Nurahiyon asked the moment Issei revealed the hero costume under his clothing.

Suzaku smiled as she placed a hand over her giggling smile.

"Red Dragon Emperor... I, too, must question your choice of attire. Although you have the freedom to choose any clothing, I must ask if you chose this just to humor us." Suzaku followed with a professional comment.

"Kuh... I must agree…" Nurarihyon managed to say between his heavy breaths from all the laughing. "...Wait, another one is coming up… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Nurahiyon, said as he continued laughing and laughing as he clutched his stomach from the pain.

Issei felt like dropping to his knees and crying his heart out. He could even hear the girls ending up letting few giggles escaped them from behind him... that moment, Issei just wanted to die. He wouldn't mind if Hades appeared and claimed his life right now.

It took few minutes until Nurarihyon's laughing episode started to die down. When the mood was cooling down, was when they felt _it_ \- well, Nurarihyon took the brunt of the feeling, to be precise.

Issei - standing with his arms folded, was glaring at him, and the youkai leader could tell that the boy was utterly pissed and his patience was running on fumes. Nurarihyon swallowed a small lump at the… inexplicable, intimidating pressure that exuded from Issei's person. He, along with everyone else deemed that the time to get serious had to start again.

"Lord Nurarihyon…" Issei said rather…. 'Calmly'. "...Don't we have something else to do here?"

Without another word, Nurarihyon schooled his appearance, cleared his throat then gestured everyone to the center of the campsite, where there were other youkais (who decided to ignore Issei's costume alone) surrounding a table with a map on it - it was a old-looking paper with drawings about the mountains in the area, as well as several drawings and markings on multiple spots.

"The marks represent the camps belonging to the rebels." Retsuza explained, while the others listened attentively. "The camps around this area belong to the _Kumo_ (spider) clan from Lord Nurarihyon's 100 Demons, considering the thick greeneries and forestries provided a little sunlight on the landscape, providing them a perfect location to build their nests." The Kamaitachi explained, before his fingers moved across the map again. "The area with rivers and waterfalls belong to Inugamigyobu of the Shikoku, their numbers are around 700 demons strong. They were originally serving under Lady Yasaka of Kyoto."

"So, we have roughly an army of over 700 men strong…" Rias muttered as she rubbed her chin in thought. "...Anything regarding their firepower?"

"They are definitely not to be underestimated." This time, it was Magari who replied, her eyes gleaming with wisdom of her own. "The Shikoku is one of the oldest clan ever since Lady Yasaka first ascended into the throne of western youkai, allowing them to amass more than enough power and experience to be a formidable force. The spiders might be lacking in number, but the territory they are currently at allows them efficiency and advantage in guerilla warfare. Not to mention…."

When the elder Nekoshou paused to narrow her eyes, every other youkai seemed to notice the tension on her expression; signifying a bad sign. "...We have an intel that the Spiders are in the middle of a ritual…. We don't know what kind of ritual, since the site is highly covered with trees and webs, but the incantation our spies heard sounds like they are trying to…. Summon _something_."

"...'Something'?" Rias prodded, her eyes narrowed in curiosity at Magari's vague explanation.

"...Unfortunately, we could not verify any further since the site was highly protected with their webs and their own guards, rendering surveillance unlikely. Considering we are wasting the day here, our only option is to go there and stop whatever ritual they are trying to pull off." the elder Nekoshou finished with a heavy sigh, clearly not liking the alternative herself.

The entire group went silent for a moment to let Magari's word sink into their minds. Few seconds later, the silence was broken by Nurarihyon's voice. "Alright, everyone. Time is the essence here, let's move on to the team division. One team will engage the Shikoku, while the other will go to deal with the Spiders. Any questions?"

The others waited for a bit, subtly glancing around to see if there was anyone who had some questions needed to be answered.

"If you don't mind me asking… what should we be expecting?"

Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the voice; which happened to be the Knight of Rias Gremory - Yuuto Kiba with his hand raised.

"I mean… what should we expect from the spiders?" Yuuto asked. "...From your description, I have a feeling that spiders will be trickier to handle."

"Hmm… I guess your concern is understandable." Nurarihyon nodded while rubbing his chin. "...The last time we encounter the spiders was around decades ago… As far as I recall, they are adept in ambush, creating traps, and strike from the shadows as soon as they spot a smallest opening. Of course, they are also equipped with paralyzing venom… An exposure to even one drop was enough to paralyze several full-grown men for days."

Hearing this, some of the ORC gulped, while some battle-hardened fighters like Rias, Akeno, Issei, Koneko, Rossweisse, Yuuto, Xenovia and Irina could maintain their calm.

"Then again, that was already a long time ago… Who knows what kind of new tricks those cretins have developed over decades." Nurarihyon finished with a shrug. "In the end, keep your senses open. With or without intel, we can never tell what will happen in the battlefield. Exercising caution is still priority."

Once everyone nodded at the explanation, Nurarihyon spoke again. "Anything else?" Few seconds passed, and no more questions arose from the group. Learning that everyone was ready, Nurarihyon nodded one more time. "...Alright, let's begin."

* * *

"So… As we are now on the same team… We will be in your care!" Irina said as she smiled at one member of the youkai army accompanying them. Currently, they were on their way towards the enemy territory.

Comprising the group, Asia, Irina, Rossweisse, Yuuto, Ouryuu, Kuroka, Koneko, as well as the band of youkai that Nurarihyon had chosen himself formed to subjugate the spiders. The team consisted of individuals that can adapt against surprise attacks and traps, proficient in surviving against unfair battles, using the spell-casters for long range attacks, with close-quarter combatants as the vanguard and the healer at the far back for support.

"...Hn." A youkai with an appearance of a ferret, not unlike Retsuza, nodded with a soft grunt, before he kept walking ahead. He possessed the height of an average man, golden-slitted eyes, and spiky black and white hair. The youkai was armed with several sickles on his person; wearing a rather traditional attire, which was consisted of grey martial-arts like uniform - a jibei top and hakama pants; covered with dark-blue sleeveless haori which was tied to a fitting with black obi sash. On his arms, he wore armguards which protected his forearms. A purple bandana was tied around his head and left arm.

"So…. I guess we haven't properly introduced ourselves, have we?" Irina carried on, attempting to keep the mood bright. "My name is Irina Shidou, and these are my friends from Kuoh."

As if on cue, the rest of the ORC followed suit with their own introductions.

"Name's Kuroka-nya~."

"...Koneko Toujou."

"I'm Yuuto Kiba, we look forward to work with you." the knight nodded with his polite smile.

"My name is Ouryuu Nakiri. We'll be in your care." The young freshman introduced himself as well.

"I'm Rossweisse, a pleasure." the former Valkyrie introduced herself next.

"M-my name is Asia Argento! Nice to meet you!" last but not least, Asia introduced herself with her usual shy stuttering.

"...Hn." Once again, while the ferret youkai did listen to their introductions, he kept walking and merely replied with another grunt and a nod, making the atmosphere became more awkward.

"...U-um, so… What's your name?" Irina asked, trying her best to cease the awkward atmosphere.

"...Itaku." this time, the young Kamaitachi - Itaku, replied without looking back.

Fortunately, before the atmosphere could have gone worse, a new voice was heard. "Yeah, it's nice to meet ya, folks!" a youkai with lizard-like appearance - swamp kappa said, his tone sounded rather jovial. "The name here's Amezo of Oshu Tono! Looking forward to work with y'all!" Amezo's greeting managed to lighten up the mood in the end.

"Oshu Tono…" Ouryuu muttered, his face turned thoughtful. "...If I'm not mistaken, I heard Tono clan has been serving as Lord Nurarihyon's mercenaries as of late, am I correct?"

"Well… actually we are not bound by any clan, technically speaking…" a female youkai replied. She had a long pink hair tied up in Chinese-style buns on either side of her head with a small braid hanging on her right bun. She was wearing a yellow kimono with floral pattern with matching furisode and zori. "...But ever since Lord Nurarihyon united the entire eastern youkai under his rule, perhaps we are as good bound to him, since he's our only frequent client. Oh, and by the way, my name is Reira, _Yuki Onna_ (Snow Woman)."

Then, Reira proceeded to introduce the rest of the youkai near her. "The monkey-like one is Dohiko."

The youkai in question had an appearance of a civilized gorilla of sorts, brown fur all over besides his light pink face, loose-sleeved white judogi with a fur vest worn over it. One his forehead, a bandana marked with rows of circles with a horizontal line drawn in through the circles symmetrically dividing them, along with two sashes worn in a cross with the same pattern as that of the bandana's.

"'Sup…" The one introduced as Dohiko raised his hand in greeting, before he lightly scowled at Reira. "...Hey, Reira… While I do look like a monkey, can you not say it like that? It sounds demeaning." his plea garnered some amusement from the ORC, but they opted to listen as Reira ignored the youkai and went to the next.

"You already knew Amezo and Itaku here…" The aforementioned water youkai waved again at the ORC members, while the Kamaitachi did not even bother to take his eyes off the road. "...And last but not the least, Awashima."

"...Hey there." said an androgynous man with smooth, combed short hair of chestnut brown, wearing a red haori over dark green robes underneath.

"It's nice to meet you all!" Irina chirped as the mood was completely lifted.

"Same here, and I'm sorry about Itaku. He's not a bad person, it's just… He's not used to deal with strangers and other youkai outside of Tono." Reira said sheepishly.

However, before ORC could have replied, Amezo suddenly spoke again. "Oh, oh! I heard that you guys from Kuoh came here with that Red Dragon Emperor! He's the one with the brown hair and lame-ass costume, right? Damn, I forgot to ask him for an autograph earlier!" the water youkai said excitedly.

Those from Kuoh flinched slightly at the mentioning of their friend's outfit. However, since they could not completely disagree with the water youkai (yet), everyone decided to play along for now.

"Yes, Ise-kun is the one with the brown hair…" Yuuto finally decided to join conversation by humouring the water youkai. "...Although, may I know how did you know about him?"

"Why, I watched the live recording of your Rating Game, of course!" Amezo jovially replied. "Oh, and… You!" Amezo then turned towards Koneko, who blinked as if she wondered whether the youkai was looking at her. "I saw your fight with that huge ass dragon there! That was epic!" he flashed the white-haired Nekoshou a thumb.

"Err… Thanks." Koneko meekly replied. _That was kind of out of nowhere, as flattering as he sounds_.

Then, before Amezo could have continued with his ranting, a hairy arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him away, much to his chagrin. "Alright, Amezo. Give the girls some space, will ya?" Dohiko decided to play the babysitter as Amezo struggled for few seconds in his grip before finally gave in.

"Sorry about him. Us from Tono are rarely in touch with the outside world, so he's really curious about anything outside the village." Dohiko explained before his eyes landed upon a certain black cat. "Although…. I do notice that you are keeping some peculiar company… Aren't you the Black Cat Kuroka?"

The group from Kuoh went apprehensive at the attention given to their resident fugitive. The youkai-turned-devil in question only smiled as she was not fazed. "So, what if I am?"

"Nothing, it's just that you are kind of famous around here." Dohiko shrugged. "After all, you and your lil' sister over there are the daughters of Lady Fujimai."

Apparently, Dohiko's words caught the full attention of the Nekomata sisters. "...You know our mother?" Koneko asked.

"Of course, we do. After all, Lady Fujimai was once a part of Tono." Awashima replied with a light scoff. "...I still remember those days…. If I were a bit older back then, I would've asked her out." he(she?) finished with a chuckle.

Both Kuroka and Koneko quirked their eyebrows at the remark, but the former's look had more tone of amusement within.

"Awashima's inappropriate remark aside…." Reira cut in, ignoring the scowl on Awashima's face. "Lady Fujimai used to be one of the best among the young youkai in Oshu Tono before her departure to outside world. We've heard of what happened, and we are sorry for her passing." she finished solemnly. "Koneko-san… Correct? You are actually the spitting image of her in her younger days." the Yuki Onna smiled at the younger Nekoshou, who looked down in nostalgia.

"...Hmph." Everyone turned to hear Itaku's scoff. "I honestly have no idea what's gotten into Lady Fujimai to leave the village in pursuit of a human affection. Moreover, I don't understand what made two of you willing to put yourselves under mercy of a devil." the Kamaitachi said as his gaze was pointed at the Nekoshou sisters, who glared in return.

"...Says the eternal virgin who can't woo a girl for his life." Reira lightly chided the Kamaitachi, who only let out a breath and looked away from the Nekoshou.

"However, if you two were to turn to Oshu, you would have fitted in without much trouble." Itaku's last comment made everyone blinked. At one second the Kamaitachi was judging and verbally bashing Kuroka, the next second he was showing something close to sympathy(?).

Kuroka only looked away with a solemn look in her hazel eyes. Now that she thought about it, _why_ indeed? It was as if her life had been one mistake after another. Why did she and her little sister not go to Tono, instead they went to the underworld and served an unsavory devil? Was it because the harshness of her life after the death of her mother, followed with the devil's promise of comfortable lifestyle, that clouded her judgement? Was it because she thought that she could become stronger when she became a devil? In the end, Kuroka did not want to think about the past any longer.

 _The memories of her life in that mansion_ \- especially when she thought of that part, her hand reached for the hems of her kimono and squeezed tightly. Would she not have to go through all that, were she take another choice? Kuroka's body started to tremble slightly as her mind kept wandering to her past.

Surprisingly, a small hand reached for trembling limbs and Kuroka found her little sister's eyes looking at her own orbs worriedly. Kuroka then schooled her calm as she smiled and gently pried Koneko - Shirone's hand off. "...I'm okay, Shirone-nya."

Koneko was not convinced, but the current situation was not suitable for her to press on her sister any further.

While the Nekoshou siblings were minding their own business, the rest of the Kuoh students only stared at Itaku's back, as they kept on their march towards enemy base. "...Kind of confusing guy, isn't he?" the others blinked and turned towards Amezo, who was already walking next to them. "As we said, Itaku is… rather awkward with strangers, but don't mind his words too much, he's just a natural born virgin who only knows how to act edgy." the water youkai waved his arm nonchalantly, ignoring the cold glare from the Kamaitachi. "Anyway, tell me more about you guys! I saw in the recordings that some of you can conjure badass-looking swords, soldiers, lightning and more!" with that, the mood was (prematurely) brightened, causing everyone to sweat-drop.

"You can ask for an autograph to gloat the others later. We're already closing in." Itaku's voice was heard again as he took the point in the group. The usually jovial Amezo suddenly seized his talking and his, along with everyone else turned serious.

* * *

The lair of the spider clan.

A dark, land riddled with trees that suck most of the sunlight from the air, leaving a shadow so great it could be mistaken as the night itself. Almost no light could enter the forest, which made one wonder how the flora within could live with so little sunlight. Knee high dark green grass could be seen at the entrance of the forest, giving the group a good indication of various ambushes.

As the group walked through the woods, sounds of skittering and rustling grass were coming in whispers; crunching leaves and jittering filled the air. While they had enough confidence in battle powers and numbers, they could not help but naturally nervous, even if only for a little bit, within enemy territory.

"Be aware of your surroundings…" Itaku said as he brandished his sickles. "...They could ambush us at any moment now."

At the mentioning, everyone went to battle station. Asia got her Twilight Healing ready, even had her familiar - Sprite Dragon Rassei perched upon her head, the little dragon was scanning its surroundings for any hostile.

Irina then brandished her sword of light, as well as closing herself protectively against Asia. Even the glowing of her sword of light could only give her so much visual of what was ahead of her.

Rossweisse had also prepared several mysteries over her figure, ready to fire them at any moment's notice.

Yuuto had banished all reservations as he conjured his Balance Breaker - his Sword of Betrayer with fire element to counter against the spiders. Thanks to his past training, the Knight could hold his Holy Demonic Sword for a couple of days, give or take.

Ouryuu also balled his hands into fists as his body was tensed and glowing with touki.

The Nekoshou sisters - Kuroka and Koneko had their feline features revealed to the world, as they honed their senses for any incoming hostiles.

The rest of the youkai that accompanied them also went to battle mode, preparing whatever weapons and mysteries they had in their arsenals to be thrown to the enemies at whenever.

"So….." Irina whispered - loud enough to be heard by her teammates, to alleviate the little mood left within the group. "...Can anyone tell us what to expect? Perhaps some eight-legged freaks? Or humanoid creatures jumping around us?"

"What, you scared?" Dohiko grinned as he gave a quick glance at Irina, who was returning his remark with a pout.

"Irina-senpai is afraid of bugs." Irina then turned her head, wide-eyed with surprise and slight betrayal, at Koneko, who was still busy minding her surroundings. "...Xenovia-senpai told us." the Rook glanced at Irina, who widened her eyes further - her old partner had practically might have practically blabbed all of her 'dark' secrets.

Irina made a note to have a long 'talk' with Xenovia later.

oXo

Meanwhile, a certain blue-haired knight felt some tingling on her spine. She rubbed her nape while looking around with a small frown on her face. Not a sense-of-doom kind of tingle, but the pain-in-the-ass kind of tingle.

"What's wrong, Xenovia?" Rias asked next to her, her question also prompted Issei and Akeno to look over as well.

"...It's nothing." Xenovia ceased rubbing her nape while she still had her narrowed eyes back to her path ahead. _"...Yeah, probably just my imagination."_

oXo

"Well, just for your information, I'm not exactly scarred. I'm more like _grossed_ out by them." Irina clarified, trying to salvage her remaining dignity.

Yuuto and Kuroka could not help but chuckle in amusement, as well as some youkai safe for Itaku, and Irina could only grumble in embarrassment in the end. "It's alright, Irina-san. I'm also uncomfortable when I have to deal with insects." Asia quipped, trying to cheer the reincarnated angel up.

"...Thanks, Asia." Irina smiled as she actually meant it - since it was just impossible for the Bishop to say anything sarcastic.

At least the mood was brightened up again, even for a bit.

"...Eh, then you might be in for a surprise with them." Amezo commented without a hint of tact, receiving a dry/chidding looks from his peers.

The group proceeded to move deeper into the forest, as their eyes adjusted soon enough with the dark environment.

However, few minutes of walking later, Itaku suddenly stopped and raised his fist up, signaling the others to halt. "...Wait, I sense movement." the Kamaitachi said as he narrowed his eyes and lower his body in anticipation. The others also perked up in preparation and scanned their surroundings as well.

Rustling leaves, whispering winds and noises of broken twigs and branches were heard across the air. However, as soon as those noises were heard, everyone's ears were graced by silence soon after - the silence was so thick that they could almost hear their own heart-beat.

Irina felt her heart skip a beat when she thought there was jittering singing from the darkness surrounding them. Her fear(disgust) of insects was now surfacing, taking hold of her legs as they trembled.

Then…

*Creeaaakk*

The sound of… a string stretching could be heard, followed by a whispering sharp object slicing through the air so quiet, even Itaku could barely hear it.

But, at the last moment.

It was a second later that Yuuto found something land on a tree bark next to him - his head, to be precise. The arrow was made from bone, glazed in sticky mucous like luster, the tip of the arrow made from obsidian stone as it split the tree in half before piercing the tree behind it, completely buried to the notch.

"...Guys?" Yuuto called out, then everyone turned and immediately see what the blonde knight was talking about. Their eyes widened, and as soon as they scanned their surroundings again, they could make out several projectiles being shot at them.

That moment, all hell broke loose.

"Incoming!"

"Watch out!"

"Take cover!"

"Shit!"

"Man down! Man down!"

It was literally a mayhem as everyone tried to fend off their unseen attackers. Arrows were coming from various directions almost without making any sounds, making their defense more difficult. The Youkai Oshu Tono brought along with them were struck by arrows, downing them almost instantly, even though the arrows did not strike their vitals. They were down, but not because of simple injuries.

"What the hell?! I can't move!"

"Ahhhfiiiisoo!" This one's tongue was slurred as his body slowed to a crawl, his capacity for speech rendered incapacitated.

Awashima noted the reaction and condition of his(her?) fallen brethren - as she(he?) dodged and used a katana to respond the incoming arrows every now and then, and swiftly dashed to the nearest arrow at the corner of his/her vision, plucking out a random arrow from nearby tree. She/he scrutinised the tip of the arrow before taking a quick sniff, lick-and-spit, then his/her eyes widened in recognition.

"Poison arrows!" the androgynus youkai shouted those two words and everyone else quickly understood.

Thirteen more arrows flew towards the ORC group, all aiming for Yuuto from the west. While he could only see the incoming projectile, the knight was not having much difficulty of parrying every single one of them as he had quickly conjured another sword for dual-wielding. However, as he deflected one arrow after another, Yuuto could not help but grunt, as he felt the projectile hit a lot harder than he thought. Each time the projectile met the steel of his blade, he could feel the impact sent shivers through his arm.

Koneko was faring better - as she laced her body with touki, combined with the enhancement of her Rook trait, as well as sharp reflexes of Nekoshou, she simply intercepted the incoming onslaught with her bare hands. Her sister - Kuroka, was using her more variation of Senjutsu to manipulate plants and her surroundings to protect herself from the hail of arrows.

Ouryuu was doing something similar like Koneko, however, his body was enveloped in a touki that glowed in yellow aura, and it was a lot thicker than Koneko's. The young man was easily tanking the incoming attacks.

Asia, Rossweisse and Irina was standing together, with the Rook conjuring several defensive spells to protect all three of them, while Irina was more focusing to prevent any enemies to blindsided them, and Asia was ready to use her Twilight Healing to heal the nearby wounded.

Those who were defending themselves through mystic arts might not be able to tell, but those who intercepted the arrows close and personal, could tell that those arrows hit hard. If the blade of the arrow pierced through their skin, they would be put in bad shape.

Amid protecting himself, Itaku assessed the situation of the battlefield, and he had to make a decision. "Push through! We can't stay here any longer! Keep moving!" he shouted his orders as he began to move while parrying and dodging the poison arrows.

Everyone then automatically followed suit. However, as they moved, everyone could not help but know that they were leaving some of their fallen comrades behind. "W-wait, Itaku-san! What about the others? We can't leave them behind!" Asia said to the Kamaitachi.

Apparently, as the group kept moving in pronto, Dohiko was the one providing the answer. "Look, girl. I know it's hard to deal with, but were lucky enough that the poison doesn't kill them in a second. The sooner we finish our job here, the sooner we can go back and save them. Now keep moving!"

Asia sent one last look towards her fallen comrades, then she looked at her friends from ORC, who returned her gesture by encouraging looks and nods. With heavy heart, in the end, Asia could only pray that they could make it in time as she chose to keep up with everyone else.

oXo

Meanwhile… As the group kept running away from the rain of arrows, Irina yelped whenever she saw an arrow flying towards her. But… for some reason, they kept flying over her one by one, hitting the trees or dirt off the mark. Confused, Irina watched as the arrows keep missing her especially after the seventh time.

"...You sure you don't want me to take the shot?" A feminine voice asked from deep within the woods, snarking at the man with the compound bow made of bones.

The appearance of the spiders… were mostly humanoid, fair white skin, lithe figure, their usual attire a white hakama. However, what distinguished them were the four arachnid like limbs hanging over their shoulders and under their arms.

"Shut up, Zen!" The man chirped as he fired another arrow… only for it to miss his target by a huge margin.

"Kyokai, we're giving you a chance to prove yourself here so make it count!" another voice - this time, a male, was heard as another arrow missed its target. "...You suck at this." the voice finally commented again at the spectacle.

"Go eat a dick, Bou!" the Spider - Kyokai, shouted in return of his supposedly friend's commentary.

"This is what happens when you decided to skip all those trainings before." The owner of the female voice - Zen spoke again.

"I trained, okay!" Kyokai defended as he released another arrow at another target, this time the silver-haired woman who seemed taller - bigger target than the reincarnated angel earlier, only for it to miss her by the hair.

"...You're just like Gin."

"Don't compare me to that useless pile of exoskeleton!" at this point, Zen had enough and just snatched the bow from Kyokai's hand.

"...Watch and learn then." Zen smirked, as her long dark hair waved as she turned her head to the angel, her eyes locked onto the pretty girl as she pulled the string while channeling her Ki into the energy conductive string and empowered it, her arrow ready to fire.

"And... one down." she said as she released the arrow, launching it as if it was an Anti-Material Rifle, as it flew at Irina (again) at speed faster than lightning.

CLANK!

However…

The arrow struck something hard, shattering it like glass as the arrowhead, dripping with venom, was close to hitting the pretty angel in the head.

"Oh, you lucky little bitch..." Zen cursed, as she pulled another arrow and fired with even more kick into it.

oXo

Meanwhile…

Irina involuntarily sped up her running, as soon as she found that there was actually an arrow that almost struck her head. In her mind, she prayed all the prayers in the Bible to her god that she would live through this. She did not want to stay here any longer.

When another arrow flew towards her back, the arrow was intercepted by a blonde handsome man at the last second, striking his demonic sword. The blade cracked from the force, even managed to cause Yuuto to stumble on his stance. Still, he was still able to redirect the course of the arrow to pierce through a nearby rock, much to their surprise at the display of strength.

Yuuto also shared her feelings. He does not know how long he can hold, and worse, his arms are already failing him, tired from the constant strain. His swords could no longer handle the arrows, as they now shatter like glass from the force behind the projectiles. He did not expect this at all. And worse, the sniper kept aiming for Irina with killing intent, one that continued growing more menacing by the second.

"Thanks, Rossweisse-sensei, Kiba-kun!"

Then again, she knew well that it was the Rook and Knight's interventions that she was still in one piece.

oXo

Back to the enemy's side, the female archer was thoroughly agitated, as she kept failing to hit her target. "Grrh...!" with a vengeance, Zen then continued aiming for Irina, as well as Asia, as the girls ran away like hell - Zen refusing to let her preys go as she fired arrow after arrow, each more empowered than the last, as Yuuto and Rossweiss had to continue defending their friends from the Spider's fury.

"Heheh..." Kyoukai now laughed mocking at Zen, who was still too focused to properly retort on the male's snickering.

"Not a fucking word, Kyokai!"

"So… how does it feel to not hit anything?" Kyokai mockingly asked. Zen only growled in return, as she leapt from her spot and chased after the devils, angel and youkai through the trees.

oXo

As Irina and Asia caught up with the rest of ORC members, they stopped as they heard trees falling one by one. Followed by the rampaging footsteps of a giant, rumbling the earth with each step. In addition, everyone could tell the enemy's aura was quite large compared to themselves individually - whatever opponent that was coming was probably one of heavy hitters of the enemy troops.

"Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum!" They then heard a loud, booming voice… menacing… but also…

"Who had dared to steal my gums!?"

"...What?"

In the cluster of trees in front of them, the being that emanated the aura burst through the trees, launching the torso of the trees so high into the air they could no longer see it anymore.

"Who dares interrupt my nap time with Mr. Poodles?!" The man - towering almost 3 meters high… garbed in blue, wearing an orange spider mask, roared with the fury of… they could not comprehend.

The ORC, and the leading youkai blinked as they watched the masked man pound his chest like a gorilla, shaking the air with every thump, as they continued listening to the nonsensical rants of the Youkai before them.

In a distance, the spider-archers from earlier was catching up by running and hopping up through the mass of trees, and they saw the spectacle that took place. "What the fuck is that idiot doing!?" Kyokai asked in frustrated tone.

"Argh, I told Gin to keep him in line! I bet he bailed out… Again!" Bou replied.

"If you already knew about that, why the hell did you tell Gin of all people…" Zen, who paused as she came up with an idea, and then let out a sigh. "...You know what? Screw this."

The female spider then shouted at the rampaging Spider. "Barrel them over, Roka! They took your Mr. Poodles!"

The ORC and the Youkai could only blink as they heard the voice, trying to process the insanity of their opposition.

"RAHHHGGGHHH! I WILL BREAK YOUR EXOSKELETONS AND DRINK YOUR SQUISHY JUICE THINGS!" Roka, roared with the fury of a thousand toddlers, as he then rampaged towards the ORC and their fellow Youkai like a raging bull, the earth literally rumbling in his wake.

"What's the deal with this guy!?" Dohiko asked as everyone else braced themselves to intercept the incoming assault.

However, as soon as Dohiko made that comment, he also happened to be at the vanguard, resulting in his taking the brunt of the blue spider's charge.

BAM!

Everyone else was forced to step back, making a way for Dohiko's large frame to barrel backwards, courtesy of a nasty headbutt from the spider - as he was sent tumbling like a ragdoll into the distance until he shrunk out of sight.

"Dohiko!" Amezo cried out before he had to refocus himself at the enemy at hand.

"My mask is made of souls! And love!" The rampaging spider youkai than uttered more words that did not make sense.

"Seriously, what the hell's this guy babbling about!?" Awashima spat as everyone began to encircle their blue adversary.

oXo

Not far from the battlefield, the three spider archers that ambushed them earlier - Kyoukai, Bou and Zen, with their small troops in tow, were watching the stupidity-induced chaos unfolding before them.

"You know… now that I think about it…. Why didn't we think of sending him in the first place?" Bou asked as he watched Roka managed to reach a lizard man, grabbed him by the legs, and spun around as he twirled, and hurled him into the others in his 'fury' and knocked them down like bowling pins. The sight of flying youkai was quite a sight.

"...Whatever. Let's finish this." Kyokai replied with a small sigh, then turned to the rest of his subordinates. "Alert the rest. While Roka is making them busy, take them from the rear while we still have the chance."

"...Bow chicka bow wow." Bou gave his iconic catchphrase as he clicked his tongue at Zen. Which only earned him a death glare from the lead female combatant.

"Bou…" Kyokai growled - _seriously, where the fuck did he learn those words from?!_. "...Seriously, right now?"

"Alright, alright. Can't blame a guy for wanting to have fun." Bou rolled his eyes as he turned around and jogged away into the trees.

"...Should we support Roka?" Kyokai asked Zen trying to forget about Bou's actions.

"Hmmm…" Zen turned her eyes back to Roka, who was throwing an androgynous youkai around by the ankle, banging the youkai on the ground as his/her body flailed as if trying to beat a fish dead.

"I kind of want to watch for a while… Ah, well. Can't let the idiot hog all the fun anyways. Move it, ye bastards!" Zen gave her opinion as she smirked, enjoying the sight of the idiot pounding the enemy troops for once.

The ORC Club watched as the babbling masked man toss the lead Youkai around like they were toys, before the enemy finally let go and hurling Awashima all the way towards Amezo.

Fortunately, the blue Spider ended up stopping as he looked a bit winded, judging his attempt to catch his breath; thus allowing everyone to regain their bearings. During that time, Dohiko, Awashima, as well as the rest who received the beating from the Spider was healed thanks to Asia's Twilight Healing.

"Huff…" Dohiko breathed out. "Damn, the guy actually packs a punch…. And goddamn if the blondie got a magic touch. Thanks, I'm good as new!" the ape Youkai flashed a thumb towards Asia, the others also nodded their thanks.

"I miss Mr. Poodles..." Then they once again heard the man spouting more non-sensible words as he turned his head to the members, as if he was never tired in the first place. "...Give me back my friend!" He shouted at them as if they had something that belonged to him.

"…Any idea what we're dealing with?" Dohiko asked, now nervous about the spider man banging his chest like a gorilla.

"No clue. But in any case, he's still an enemy and we have to deal with him." Reira concluded a she conjured a naginata made of ice.

Without another word, everyone else also prepared themselves to attack the enemy before them. However, before they could have started anything, they heard another movement. This time, the noises came from all direction - the sounds of rustling leaves, broken woods, footsteps and screeches.

Itaku only took a second to guess what was coming as his eyes narrowed. "...Great." he muttered under his breath before he brandished his sickle. "Incoming hostiles! Get ready for battle!"

"Send them to Naraka!" Zen commanded her troops as she jumped down, firing three simultaneous arrows, aiming at Irina first again, before dropping the bow to draw her Katana from her waist. The blade seemed made in an unknown alloy, quenched in acid and venom, gleaming a corrosive light that withered the vibrant colors of the surroundings.

Kyokai followed suit, dropping from the tree as he held a spear sword, a pole with two pronged blades attached to the end of the metal pole crafted from the same material as Zen's katana; while Bou had one very large katana in his hand.

The three-spider youkai and the rest of their brethren charged at them, their blades ready for combat, each heading towards their respective targets.

"Dibs on the hot chicks!" Bou shouted as he aimed for Kuroka and the others.

"Go support Roka!" Zen suddenly shouted, eliciting a groan from Bou.

"Awww, why?!" Bou shouted, complaining to his female comrade.

"Who's going to watch the idiot then!? Both of us also have to keep the chain of command over everyone else!" Zen shouted back.

"Aghhhh! Fine! At least there are chicks on his side!" Bou begrudgingly complied as he ran to the idiot fighting two boys and two pretty girls.

Soon the all-out fight between the Spider youkai against alliance between angels and devils of Kuoh Academy, and youkai of Oshu Toono began. Every member of each side was focusing on taking down the enemy in front of them while staying alive.

During the carnage, Koneko just sent an enemy spider flying with a drop kick.

"Ow, you little!" The spider complained like a spoiled child as he got back up, holding his sword in hand, and swung the weapon down small Neko, aiming bisect her from the head.

However, the white haired Nekoshou would not have any of it, as she simply remained still as she clapped the blade with both her hands, then with a tug, she easily snapped the blade in half leaving the attacker with just half of his weapon in hand.

"What the-!?" before the poor spider could have taken in the fact that his weapon was easily shatter by such a tiny girl, the last thing he knew before blacking out was a fist ramming right to his face.

BAM!

With a painful sound of breaking bone, Koneko slammed the man head into the dirt, her knuckle planted on his face as his head landed on the dirt, knocking him out. However, before Koneko could have decided her next course of action in the battlefield, she was approached by another enemy.

"Get out of our turf, kitty." Kyokai exclaimed as he twirled his sword-spear in his hand, from side to side, which Koneko wordlessly returned with her own stance.

"Still, a little girl walking all alone in the woods? Aren't you afraid of the dark, kitty witty?" the spider began to speak with mocking tone.

Koneko's eyes narrowed as she found the enemy before her irritating, a small vein bulged under her head.

"Let me show you the power of the spider clan, you little brat! I will show you how a pro will own your ass and send you home crying to your mama." Kyoukai brandished his sword-spear before he dashed at Koneko.

BAM!

...Only to receive an agonizing pain on his chin - coursing through his head, as he was sent flying away from Koneko's powerful uppercut. Kyoukai's figure vanished as a small dot on the sky.

"...Jackass." Koneko simply muttered, approving her own handiwork, before she turned her attention to assess the current state of battlefield.

Not much development at the first glance, but the girl would like to have a positive lookout that said the odds were stacking for her friends' favor. Most of the spiders were not particularly difficult to handle, although… When her hazel eyes caught Yuuto and Irina, Koneko noted that the female-looking spider youkai that fought them were giving them a hard time. Moreover, when her eyes laid upon the sight of the spider - based on the way she carried herself, her movements, etc., Koneko's instinct said that the spider could not be compared with her previous enemy. The difference between the female and the one she had spotted was like an adult to a toddler. Thus, she decided.

Yuuto, despite using his Balance Breakers, was having extreme difficulty against this one. Even with the help of his friends, his dragon-knights were being cut down left and right, as well as being thrown around like toys… and as ammunition. Literally, as she tossed them at Yuuto and the others like they were nothing.

Currently, Zet was standing right before Yuuto and Irina; she was choking the last dragon knight behind her back to back, the shaft of her sword spear held horizontally over her shoulders and dangerously pressed on the neck of the dragon-knight. The dragon knight was futilely trying to break free as its windpipe was strangled.

The duo devil and angel had to admit, the spider-woman before them was strong.

"You…" The woman glared at Irina, her two eyes like daggers that can pierce through souls. "...Your luck won't save you this time, brat." She venomously declared, as she quickly pulled her sword-spear, sliding her weapon right across the dragon knight's throat, until the blade slit its throat, killing it instantly as it dropped to the floor like a puppet without its strings.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, lady…" Irina replied with cautious tone. "...Luck? Saving me…?" the angel then blinked before she realised something. "Wait a second… Were you the one trying to shoot me with those bone-arrows earlier?"

"What do you think?" The woman snarled as she twirled her violent weapon, and stabbed the downed Dragon Knight behind her by the head with a sickening crunch, the sound making Irina and Yuuto wince. "I promise that I will ram something through your head this time, and it won't be pretty." She promised.

Irina and Yuuto glanced at each other, and wordlessly nodded. They began to walk circling their enemy with steady pace, while the spider woman - Zet observed for any movement alternately between Yuuto and Irina.

Then, while the combatants were busy measuring each other, Zet suddenly sensed a movement behind her.

"Hyah!" suddenly, Koneko jumped out, trying to pounce at Zet. However, the latter skillfully turned on her heels, and grabbed her by the head with her free arm before she could even react.

"...And here's your pet." Zen said as she slammed her face down to the dirt, before she kicked Koneko's body, all the way towards Yuuto.

"Koneko-chan!" Yuuto and Irina shouted, as the former easily captured the petite girl.

"I'm fine..." Koneko said as soon as she got back on her feet. "...She's strong." she said as she wiped off a dirt from her chin.

Zet narrowed her eyes at Koneko. She was pretty sure that she was not holding back on her kick, yet the little girl acted as if that kick did not do anything on her. _"She's a lot tougher than she looks..."_

Zet's eyes then widened ever so slightly as she remembered some tattle-tales about the Underworld of devils; something about the new generation consisted of few devils that somehow specialized in strength, speed and mystic arts. Perhaps the little girl was such an example? Nevertheless, Zet would kill them by the end of the day.

As Yuuto, Koneko and Irina regained their bearings, they finally surrounded Zet whom remained calm; the tension between combatants was high, all of them were tuning out the sounds of battle around them, in order to focus at the respective objective before them.

As soon as Yuuto, Irina and Koneko shared a light nod together, the former two immediately lunged to engage the female spider youkai. Zet responded in kind by closing the gap between her and Irina - who was wide open as the angel was rising her sword high for a vertical slash, to avoid the range of the latter's blade, and slammed her frame into a full-body tackle.

SLAM!

"Ugh!"

The force was enough to knock Irina aside, bringing her down abruptly as Zet quickly turned her head enough so she could spit a hidden poison needle in her mouth. The small projectile was aimed at Koneko, or more specifically, the only soft part of every living being, the eyes. The white cat had barely enough time to tilt her head so the needle would miss her eye, bouncing off harmlessly against her tough skin. However, the impact of the needle that was too close for comfort was enough to disorient her.

While Koneko was disoriented, Yuuto quickly covered for her by running at Zet, Sword of Betrayer pointed at her. The sword master of the ORC observed his foe with critical scrutiny.

" _She's strong..."_ He could tell. Zet could anticipate every move he would make, shifting her body with phantom-like subtlety every time he shifted his stance or plan his next attack.

With practiced caution, the knight stopped at the adequate range, and soon the two crossed steel, however, the knight was skidding back a step from the clash.

Irina, who was back on her feet, quickly joined the fray, adding her sword to the knight's aid. However, their opponent was not fazed as she traded blows alternately between Yuuto and Irina with her sword-spear. Her mastery of the weapon made it very difficult for the knight and angel to come in close range, as the length of her weapon kept them all at bay.

It took only a couple of seconds until Koneko also decided to join as well, the Rook made sure to attack only when she found an opening in Zet's form - any viable openings triggered by Yuuto and Irina, yet…

"Come at me, or are you all part chicken?" The Youkai taunted. She just easily caught the scruff of Koneko's uniform with the blunt end of her sword-spear, threw the Nekoshou to collide against Irina, and she pivoted her body to land a solid kick towards Yuuto's abdomen, who was about to blind-side her.

 _This woman is_ strong.

That was the collective thoughts of Yuuto, Irina and Koneko as they regarded the one enemy before them. Her skills and strength were nothing to scoff at. Not only that, the woman possessed no Sacred Gear.

Not wanting to waste any more time; Yuuto, Irina and Koneko shared another nod before all of them chose to rush at the female youkai.

"...Heh." Smirking, Zet spun while hunching her back. The threes' instincts flared danger as the youkai gathered power in her limbs, and swept her weapon widely, knocking all three of them back at the same time, back to where they were.

Yuuto, Irina and Koneko (mostly the former two) groaned in pain as they got back on their feet. "Err… Why are we charging blindly at her again?" the reincarnated angel could not help but address such question.

"...Good point." Yuuto said as he shook the weariness off his head. It was already well-known that half-hearted attempts did not work on the enemy before them, so why the blind charge? He then took a deep breath, and all three friends quickly racked their brains to come up with some sort of game-plan.

"Is it because we outnumber her?" Koneko pointed out.

"Perhaps, but…" Yuuto nodded. "...Let's capitalize the fact that this is three-on-one in our favour."

More collected, the trio nodded at each other again before they charged at Zet, albeit with more composure. The moment the stepped into her range, they stopped and rotated, switching places with their fellow members counterclockwise, before charging again.

Zet's smirk widened ever so slightly, with a hint of apprehension. _"They're learning…"_

As a matter of fact, Zet could tell that the three before her, while rather inexperienced compared to her, were no pushovers. She could tell, the number of battles they endured, and they would beat her if she kept playing around. Besides, she also got her own orders and duties to fulfil. _"...Let's end this."_

Zet pointed her finger at Koneko, while smiling at Irina as she fired a string of webbing from her finger.

The web landed right on the face of the unsuspecting Koneko, with the sticky substance covered her entire face. Rob of her vision, Koneko abruptly stopped to pry off the web.

Alas, while Yuuto and Irina were still stunned at the particular display of ability, Zet fired few more web-shots, the force was enough to send Koneko stuck to a nearby tree. The web was restraining her limbs, and the Rook found herself struggling - not only her restraints were quite strong, the webbing stuck on her face was also hindering her proper breathing.

"Koneko-chan!" Yuuto cried in alarm as he saw the cat's laboured breath and muffled groans. "Go help her! I'll cover you!" he then shouted at Irina, whom quickly nodded without a word and flew off towards the immobile Rook.

"As if!" Zet lunged at Yuuto with a heavy reverse downward slash, her pirouetting attack immediately knocked the swords out of his hands and scratched his skin.

Yuuto hissed, weathering the injury on his person. However, much to Zet's surprise, he quickly conjured another Holy-Demonic Sword and almost caught her off-guard with a swing.

The female youkai retreated as she blinked at the display. Nevertheless, an ability to conjure weapons was not completely foreign to her - she would just have to beat him down for good.

One might say that going one-on-one with an opponent stronger than you was suicidal; perhaps it was applicable in case of Yuuto dealing with Zet. However - sometimes knowing your friends in dire state could serve as a strong drive to perform above your own limits.

Despite what he had gone through so far - with team training, fighting and all, Yuuto was one between the three with more experience of fighting solo. Before Issei joining Rias' peerage, Yuuto had done his own fair share of solo task - since he was the only male in the group.

Imagine that he had to handle a veteran warrior by his own; however, he had to let Irina go, otherwise Koneko's life would be put in danger. Besides, if it was about fighting a stronger opponent, Yuuto had sparred Souji Okita during his early days.

Sometimes, in right circumstances, fighting alone could make one to unconsciously perform even better.

"Heh, really? You do know we specialize in poison, right?" Zet said as she pointed at her spear. Yuuto looked at the blade of her pike, and widened his eyes upon seeing the lustrous glaze coating the tip of her spear.

"...Shi-!" Before he could even curse, his tongue slurred as his senses were distorted as the poison circulating through his system finally took effect.

Despite Yuutos' effort, it only took few seconds until he fell face-down to the ground.

"If it's any consolation, the poison's primary use is to paralyze rather than kill, so you'll live for a while." Zet commented before she turned to find the rest of her opponents.

"Now then… where were we, little girls?" Zet said as she locked her predatory gaze at Irina.

Upon locking onto Irina, the angel was halfway close to freeing her cat friend - whom at least already had the webbing off her face, allowing Koneko to gasp for much needed air.

"...Prepare to become meat bags." Zet said as she tightened her fingers around her sword-spear and dashed towards them.

"Irina-senpai!" Koneko - with her limbs and body still stuck on the tree shouted. "Just go! I'll be fine!" After all, the enemy should be prioritizing to focus on the angel rather than an already immobilized person.

Irina gave one last look towards Koneko before she reluctantly got away, effectively drawing Zet's attention on her. While the two were engaging each other, Koneko began to work on her restraints.

It took only a minute for Irina to find herself being overwhelmed by Zet. The reincarnated angel was lying on the ground, with the spider youkai looming over her. Zet was rising her sword-spear high, ready to impale her.

"Say goodbye…." However, before Zet could have plunged her weapon down, she was suddenly tackled by Koneko who had freed herself. The impact was strong enough to force the air out of her as the spider and the cat stumbled and rolled on the ground.

Zet hissed as she flipped back from the ground to return on her feet, irritated at the surprise attack. She then saw Koneko was charging with her fist ready. As soon as the Nekoshou had closed the distance, Zet dodged Koneko's punch at the last second and sent a nasty, two-handed hammer fist at the back of Koneko's head in return, sending the cat skidding head-first on the unforgiving ground.

Koneko raised up as she hit the ground in agitation, barely able to hold down her growl. Soon she stood back up and proceeded to engage Zet in a fist-fight. Koneko threw several punches and swings of her own, but Zet dodged and parried every blow without much difficulty. When Koneko sent another straight, Zet parried the incoming fist and she threw her palm through the opening, all the way towards Koneko's jaw.

WHAM!

The hit on her jaw shocked Koneko to get disoriented for a second, allowing Zet to grab Koneko's head and pulled it towards her knee strike. Dazed even more, Koneko was not able to defend herself from a solid kick to her abdomen, which sent her flying few meters away.

Zet then retrieved her discarded sword-spear before returning her attention back on Koneko. However, before she could pursue the downed Nekoshou further, she had to duck her head to avoid another surprise attack from Irina.

As Irina pushed forward, the swing of her sword of light managed to disarm Zet, as the sword-spear was thrown away from her hand. However, as Irina sent another strike towards Zet's head, the latter simply closed in to evade the blade's range, and she easily spun around and landed a round-house kick at Irina's temple, downing the angel to the side once again.

At the same time, as Zet was still distracted by Irina, Koneko managed to land a surprise tackle on her, sending the two youkai stumbling and wrestling on the ground. As Koneko was on top of Zet, the latter was slightly taken aback at the strength coming from the tiny frame of the former.

The female spider growled as she mustered the strength on her legs to kick Koneko off her, sending the cat back to regroup with Irina. The Rook then proceeded to grab a nearby tree, uprooted the plant over her head and tossed tree at the shocked spider. The attack did not stop there, as Koneko proceeded to toss other natural structures - other trees and boulders to crush the female spider.

While Zet was busy avoiding from being squashed, Irina proceeded to charge with her sword of light ready.

With her sword-spear disarmed earlier, Zet had to rely on her bare-handed combat; as she easily parried Irina's swing and landed a solid knee on the angel's ribs, causing her to fall on her knees in pain. However, Koneko suddenly jumped over Irina and threw a solid straight, which was strong enough to force Zet to stumble back.

As soon as Irina recovered on her feet, she and Koneko began to synchronise their movements and attack Zet alternately.

While the female spider was caught off-guard by the falling large projectiles, she could still keep up as she evaded several of Irina's strikes before she finally managed to knock the angel aside with a solid back-hand.

Zet only realized when Koneko was already on her, the rain of forest debris had stopped raining.

"Get off me!" Zet sneered as she bore her fangs and bit Koneko's hand, her teeth laced with venom. However, the spider did not expect that the little girl's skin to be so tough, as her fangs could not sink as deep as she had wanted.

Unable to inject her venom as she intended, Zet decided to let go and used her superior height to gain leverage over the petite Rook. As she spun her body around, using the centrifugal force to help loosen the cat girl's grip on her, and threw herself forward to throw her down over her shoulder.

However, as soon as Zet had downed Koneko, Irina suddenly caught her again with an impressive drop-kick to the face. As Zet staggered back from the force, Irina used the chance to brandish another sword of light and began to engage Zet with relentless onslaughts.

Zet was put in a defensive for few moments until she spotted an opening and jumped to strike Irina's chin with her right knee. Stunned from the hit, the angel could not do anything when she received a solid double-palm strike on her abdomen, forcing her to cough out few drops of stomach acid and blood.

As Irina fell on her knees, Zet noticed that from a fair distance, Koneko attempted to throw another boulder at her, which the spider merely ducked - allowing the boulder to harmlessly flew past her, and shot a string of web from her arm; the web caught the boulder behind her and Zet gave a mighty tug and threw the offending rock back at the Rook.

However, Koneko had anticipated such outcome as soon as she saw the spider caught her boulder with a string. Thus, when she saw the boulder she threw was flying back at her, Koneko simply prepared her stance, and she struck her palm at the incoming boulder, resulting the boulder to shatter to pieces - that flew back at Zet again like projectiles, much to the latter's surprise.

Zet could barely put her arms and her extra spider appendages up to protect herself, and she had to tank the incoming rock pellets with a speed of bullets hitting her body. Growling in pain, with her body littered with scratches and bruises from the rock pellets, she lowered her arms to see Koneko was lunging at her again.

Soon Zet and Koneko were engaged in another fierce exchange of hand-to-hand. With Koneko put more force behind her blows, and Zet's wounds were still stinging on her skin, the latter decided to make a quick retreat by using her extra limbs to jump off to nearby trees. However, before she could have gone far from Koneko, Zet' sense was too late to realize that there was another person waiting behind.

The spider-woman turned looked back to see Irina was soaring with her white wings unravelled, complete with not just one - but two swords of light on each hand.

"Haaa!" Irina swung her arms simultaneously, and was able to cut off several of the exoskeletal appendages off Zet's back.

"Argh!" Zet cried in agony at the pain shot across her back. As she began falling, Irina also chose to tackle her mid-air, making her descent to the ground even faster.

BOOM!

Dust and debris were flying as soon as Zet and Irina crashed against the unforgiving ground. When the dust settled, Zet was found caressing her throbbing head, but her headache was nothing compared to the multiple stumps across her back.

While Zet was getting back from her disorientation, she suddenly found someone was jumping onto her unguarded back.

"Nyah!" Koneko hissed as she wrapped her legs around Zet's upper-arms against her torso, while the Rook's arms were wrapped around Zet's neck and head - effectively putting the female spider into submissive choke-hold.

"Grrh…!" Zet growled as her windpipe was blocked, making her _very_ hard to breath. She could not break free as her arms were also pretty much trapped between her torso and the Rook's legs' iron-grip. She could not overpower the Nekoshou in her current position - thus she tried to stand up to gain any sort of leverage, but she suddenly found Irina jumped and latched on her legs, effectively restraining her.

Zet began to trash around in panic; Irina was holding her legs down while Koneko was trying to put her down via strangulation. She did not bother to count how long she could not breath, as foam and drool began to form on her mouth, yet she refused to surrender, as she kept lashing out.

It took few minutes until Zet was running out of air, her thrashing became gradually weaker, until Koneko and Irina decided that enough was enough when they could not sense any more resistance coming from their spider foe.

As soon as Koneko and Irina let go of their holds, Zet let out an audible gasp and went into a coughing fit, before finally fainted from lack of oxygen.

Koneko and Irina breathed in relief; they knew well that they were in a war, and war would take casualties, but that did not mean they enjoyed the act of killing. As a matter of fact, despite the danger posed by their enemy, the current outcome was the most ideal for them.

oXo

While Koneko, Irina and Yuuto were busy fighting with one of the heavy-hitters, another battle was taking place on the battlefield.

"My name is Roka M. Gou…"

Kuroka, Ouryuu and Rossweisse were busy dodging and defending themselves from another Spider Youkai captain who just pulverized another good chunk of the earth with a single blow of his fist.

"...And I…!"

The spider in blue gave a mighty swing of his upper-cut, nearly struck Ouryuu - who guarded and leapt back to dodge, right on the chin.

"Hate…!"

Kuroka yelped as Roka's fist almost landed square on her face.

"...KNITTENS!"

BOOM!

Rossweisse grunted as her defensive spell took the brunt of Roka's double hammer-fist. The force was powerful enough to cause the ground beneath the Valkyrie's feet to cave into a sizeable crater. If it were not for the strength enhancement by her Rook piece, Rossweisse would have been out of the fight already.

Rossweisse then fired her magic right at Roka at point blank range, throwing the blue spider away with the sheer force. However, when the dust settled, the spider remained standing strong.

Few seconds of silence later, as everyone was measuring the opponent up, Kuroka was the first to break it. "...Any idea of what this guy is talking about, nya?"

The silence given by Rossweisse and Ouryuu respectively was enough for an answer. "Okay, sir…" the latter decided to speak up, thinking of another approach based off the nonsensical banter that the spider just said before. "...We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. So-..."

"...OR THE SPIDER WAY!"

The trio blinked twice at the interruption. "...What?" that one came from Rossweisse.

"...I call upon the Spider of Dogs! SPIDER CASH!" Roka shouted.

The trio of Kuroka, Ouryuu and Rossweisse only glanced at one another before the middle replied, "That's, err…. What? Sorry, we are not following you at all." he said with confused expression - an expression that was shared with his two comrades.

"I am here to rut you all! With my white thing!" Roka said.

The silence fell upon them for few more seconds until Kuroka broke it. "Something tells me….. That this guy just said something ballsy, nya."

However, when Kuroka looked at her comrades for more input, she found that while Ouryuu was somewhat agreeing with her, Rossweisse was profusely blushing rosy red.

The Valkyrie then decided to push through with the conversation, in order to end the awkward atmosphere. "Okay, whatever you're trying to say, please surrender! This is your final warning!"

"Then, um… Give me back my friend! Or I will not be sad! Wait, no, uh, I mean, I will be very mean!" Roka replied with booming voice.

"...Friend?" Ouryuu could not help but ask with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah, you see, um, I was sleeping with him like, um, many seconds ago, and when I woke up…. He's not there. Then, you all came in to us like rude people, so you must have taken him. Why are you all so mean!?" Roka accused. The trio could not deny that they invaded his home.

"...I take your other 'friends' told you this, nya?" Kuroka asked with raised eyebrows - curious to see where this would go.

"Yep! They're so nice… they bring me steak." Roka said as he nodded. Kuroka could smell the drool leaking behind his mask. "Although…. Zet can be very mean sometimes…." his tone somewhat dimmed, before brightened up again. "...But that's fine. Kyokai is around, and he's my best friend!"

The trio glanced at one another again. "Err…. Ouryuu-chin, Rossweisse-chin? Can I sit this one out? I don't think I want to handle him, nya." Kuroka's question was rather out of awkwardness - like she would kind of lose something inside her if she was to fight an opponent like Roka, like something more than just winning and losing.

"We all don't, Kuroka-san..." Ouryuu replied. "...But in the end, war's a war. Besides, I don't think anything we say will go through his head…. No offense." his final piece was directed at the spider in front of him.

"None taken, although I have no idea what you mean." Roka simply replied.

The trio looked at one another to confirm their resolve, and soon everyone charged at the same time.

"You'll get rutted!" Roka then fired some kind of string from his fingertips, thin and lustered as it reflected the little sunlight there was. The strings were nearly invisible, and extremely hard to see.

"Seriously, will you stop saying that?!" Rossweisse shouted while having a blush, as she deployed numerous magic seals, each seal firing various elements of fire, lightning, ice etc. - bombarding the stage.

"RRAAAAGGH!" However, Roka merely tanked through the onslaught as he swung his threads around.

"Kuh…. This guy is seriously tough!" Rossweisse grunted as she blocked one of the threads, while focusing to maintain her magic. However, she noticed something - the fabric of her clothes was torn as soon as the thread made contact. Her armour also sported few cuts, and her Rook-enhanced skin also sported minor scratches.

The Valkyrie's eyes then saw that the threads were slicing trees and rocks around. "Look out for the threads! Those can cut through objects!" she shouted with warning tone.

"You will be rutted like sushi!" Roka roared again as he began to run and swing around wildly.

"Wha-!? Seriously, just stop talking! Your words are making less and less sense!" Rossweisse said with slightly aggravated tone.

"THEN STOP ATTACKING! YOU ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE MEAN!" the spider shouted back as he thrashed his hands even more wildly, his razor-sharp strings flailing without any coordination or purpose.

Kuroka just jumped mid-air to avoid the threads that almost took her head and legs simultaneously, then she dropped, rolled and run on the ground in order to keep dodging. "...Alright, that's enough of you, nya!" she then activated her mysteries, blowing out a mist of poison - a product of her Sage and Demon Arts together. "Everyone, stay clear and don't breathe it in!" she warned her comrades, all the while making sure that she did not produce more gas than necessary.

"Oh? Something smells sweet..." Roka said as he sniffed the air. "...Is someone preparing food?" The blue robed spider with a mask asked as he looked at Kuroka unfazed.

The black cat could smell the idiot drooling behind his mask. He could not be thinking of eating her, would he?

"Oh, come on…" Kuroka whined with dry tone. While possible, not everyone could easily brush off Kuroka's poisonous concoction.

"I guess it's either he's too strong to be affected or too thick-headed to even respond to a poison." Ouryuu lightly joked to light up the situation, which only received an eye-roll from Kuroka.

"Har har..."

"In that case, then…!" Rossweisse then conjured another spell; this one was made in purpose of rendering the sharp threads useless.

"I rut you!" Roka shouted as he flailed his arms at Rossweisse, swinging his strings from chaotic angles as trees and boulders were bisected clean, sliding off its other halves a few seconds after parting.

Despite the lethality, a thread was still in the end, _a thread_ ; thus with some simple gravitation spell, the threads that were about to bisect her were forcibly dropped onto the ground.

However, the moment she casted her defensive spell, the spider juggernaut charged towards the devil valkyrie like a rampaging bull before Ouryu and Kuroka could react, and slammed his weight into her. Rossweisse was knocked upwards midair, but before she could recover, the blue spider grabbed both of her ankles and started spinning with her in hand.

"Ring around the rosie! Ring around the rosie!" The blue spider then began singing a child's song as Rossweisse started to feel her lunch worming its way up from her stomach, her face dangerously green with the urge to vomit. "...And the spider learned how to fly!" Roka finished with another absurd punchline, before throwing Rossweisse to the others.

Ouryuu was already running, then he dropped down to his knees and skidded on the ground as Rossweisse's frame practically flew past him - brushing few strands of his hair. Kuroka, however, was less fortunate as she was too late to evade.

"...Ugh!" Both Kuroka and Rossweisse grunted as their bodies collided with each other.

As Ouryuu closed the distance between him and Roka, he began to activate his power. "Let's do this, partner…. _Ouryuu_!" his body then glowed in yellow light, and an image of small, yellow eastern dragon hovered over his frame.

 _Ouryuu - the Yellow Dragon,_ was the Sacred Beast that Nakiri clan that had been handed down for generations to the strongest mystic of the clan who was personally chosen by the Beast itself, along with its name.

As the Sacred Beast that represents earth, the Yellow Dragon allowed Ouryuu to access the _ki_ energy that flowed through out the land. Considering that his current location was a forest, a place rich with nature and earth, the boy could supply his own, already touki-enhanced body, with massive amount of earth-based _ki_. This was Ouryuu Nakiri's signature technique - Dragon's Pulse.

With his body overflowing with power, Ouryuu finally stood right before the blue-garbed spider and the two was locked in a heated combat. However, the effect of Dragon's Pulse allowed Ouryuu to easily overpower his opponent soon enough.

"I... crush glowing thing!" The spider said as he hammered both his fist down at the boy, but Ouryuu instantly raised his arms and blocked the spider's hammer fist. Ouryuu grunted from the sheer raw power weighing down on him. The spider was unexpectedly adept in _ki_ manipulation, and his sheer reserves was nothing to scoff at. The blue spider was not even well-trained as well, yet he was still able to pressure him this much.

Then, absorbing more _ki_ from the earth, Ouryuu growled as his body glowed brighter, and pushed Roka away from him; when the spider was stumbling back and lost his balance, Ouryuu did not waste any time and tackled Roka - pushing him all the way through several trees and foliages, until they crashed into a large rock.

Disoriented from the impact, Roka could not retaliate as Ouryuu pounded his fists on his head several times, followed with more quick hits on his torso, and finished with a solid upper-cut. Before the blue spider could have fallen off, Ouryuu immediately landed a finishing hay-maker, smashing half of Roka's mask to bits, while pushing the spider's head through the rock behind him.

BAM!

Ouryuu took a deep breath as he believed that the spider was down - with his body hanging on his head stuck on the rock. However, his eyebrows raised up slightly when he caught a weak groan came from the downed spider, signifying that the youkai was still alive.

" _...Well, he's really tough, alright."_ Ouryuu thought as he began to walk back to check on the others.

oXo

"Man, you sure look fine… Are you… Y'know, once we came out of this alive and all... Free for a drink or two? My treat."

On another side, the other spider was… hitting on Awashima, wiggling his eyebrows at the 'lady'. Said 'lady' only shuddered in response, feeling as if worms had invaded her body and crawled under her skin, while her comrades snickered in hushed whispers trying not to double over and break down laughing.

"Ugh… Y'know, that's probably flattering and all, but…" Awashima said with disgusted expression. "...I'm into girls."

"Oh..." Bou simply said while kept staring at the androgynus youkai. "...Fine by me, not my first time scoring with a lesbian. Bow chicka bow wow."

Awashima's eyes only twitched as his(her?) comrades snorted even harder to hold their laughter. She swore she will murder them all later on after this.

"...After all, the ladies love me for a reason. Want me to show you why, Bou style?" the spider ranted on with suggestive gesture.

And that was the last straw, the last remaining string holding Awashima's sanity together. He(she?) brandished his/her katana, and took a step forward.

Itaku, who was (un)surprisingly remained stoic and observant, also prepared his sickles - following Awashima to end this bout. "Awashima…" However, Itaku casted a glance at his friend. "...Don't fall to his taunt. We still don't know what he's capable of. Besides, I thought you've already past that gender issue of yours."

"Shut up, I'd like to see you getting hit on by HIM." Awashima retorted.

As the band of youkai began to encircle Bou, the spider only brandished his sword - which looked rather impressive - the length defied common sense, perhaps too long to be used properly; it had blue hilt without a guard, yet the blade was meticulously forged, smooth and clean and curves at the tip, making the sword retained a certain form of grace and beauty.

"Ho, we're having a groupie? Cool. Although the ratio of men and women isn't really to my liking." Bou commented.

"Can I cut his 'thing' off?" Awashima asked with a dangerous tone.

"...No." Itaku rejected with an even tone.

"Can I break it then?"

Itaku remained silent for a second before he sighed. "...Fine."

"...Just so you know, this sword is one of a kind. It can cut just about anything, even your 'holy gears' or whatever. And only I can wield this bad boy, you non-chosen nobodies. I dare even one of you to-"

BAM!

Before Bou could have uttered another word… something broke, like the sound of a nut cracking in the forest. His face lost all color, his legs trembled for few seconds before his body collapsed onto his knees into fetal position with his hands caressing his crotch.

As Awashima retracted her foot that was responsible, he glared down at the down Spider, while the rest of Tono youkai only watched the anti-climactic battle. "How do you like that now? Let's see if you can still crack up those bullshits of yours."

"…So, you do love my wang… didn't know you're an S… Bow chicka bow wow..." the spider only groaned weakly without getting up from the ground.

The youkai only groaned and rolled their eyes in return. "...Can we just wrap up everything here and move on?" Awashima asked with exasperated tone to Itaku, who nodded and ordered everyone to clean up the rest of the stragglers on the battlefield.

* * *

It took sometime later until the Alliance managed to round up the enemies and their wounded allies. They tied their enemies via mystic rope, enchanted to be as durable as possible, preventing even them from escaping its grasp.

On the other hand, Asia was busy tending on the wounded - while her Twilight Healing could not cure poisoning, the Tono youkai lent their own medical specialists to help with the matter.

On that note, Yuuto would not be able to keep up with the rest of the raid due to the paralysis poison still running in his system, much to his chagrin. Thus, the group from Kuoh was one person short.

However, the capture of the enemy was not without difficulty. Meaning, they had to deal with the last vestige of resistance from the more… unsavory ones. Mainly, the masked idiot and the pervert.

"YOU CAN BREAK MY BODY, MY DIGNITY, BUT YOU WON'T TAKE AWAY MY…... DOODY!" Roka shouted as he was rounded up with the rest of his friends.

Dohiko, who watched the masked spider brute yelling, sighed in resignation. "...Even in defeat, still incomprehensible."

"Yeah, that's just how Roka is. Everyone needs a while to get used to him." the ape youkai turned to see a spider in a light blue garb talking to him.

"I see, err…?" Dohiko wanted to address the spider, but had no idea of his name.

"Call me Kyokai, dumb ape." Kyokai introduced himself with bland tone.

Soon enough - Zet, Kyoka, Bou and (surprisingly)Roka were rounded up separately from the rest of the army of spider youkai. The youkai of Oshu Tono and the group from Kuoh were questioning them for more information regarding their cells.

"So…" Dohiko decided to take the lead of the interrogation. "...I'll get to the point; how many men do you have? According to our intel, you guys are in the middle of some ritual. What are you plotting?"

"...You need three things. First, go the forest and grab a sword, cut off your dick, and use it to fuck yourself silly." Bou told them, in his own colorful language, to go fuck off.

"Oh, oh, like you almost did with your thing?" Roka interrupted ebulliently.

"Roka, we agreed not to bring that up ever again! Shut up!" Bou retorted angrily.

"Right, sorry. You never did anything with your thing." Roka quickly said in return.

"Don't make it sound as if I don't use it, you idiot." Bou retorted, hissing at the idiot tied to his back.

"Jokes aside…" Rossweisse cleared her throat to gain the prisoner's attention. "...It will be your best interest to cooperate. If you comply, we will see that your punishments will be less severe and all of you will be treated well."

"How about you just untie me, so I can show you a good time instead, miss?" Bou replied as he wiggled his eyebrows at the valkyrie. "...Bow chicka bow wow." of course he also whispered the final words to his comrades next to him, much to their chagrin.

"Ugh… Good god, make him stop." Zet pleaded to her captors.

"Zet, you know that Bou won't stop. That's his trade-marks, as much as I hate it." Kyokai retorted with flat tone.

"Then someone cut him with my weapon or something."

"He is immune to poison you know?"

"Then use it to cut out his tongue, and take his vocal chords out for good measure." Zet clarified.

"Hey! What's with this bashing?!" Bou protested. "If you're talking about shutting up, you should go for Roka! He's noisier than me!"

"Your voice is a thousand times worse." Zet dryly retorted.

"Hey!" the spiders then turned to see Awashima, whose eyebrows were twitching with impatience. "We are in charge now. So you either talk, or we'll get rid of you."

The spiders only turned to watch the youkai, devils and angel surrounding them, before Kyokai snorted. "Well, I think it doesn't really matter if we tell you guys or not. All of us, you people included, are gonna die soon enough anyway, so you might as well just kill us and - per Bou said, go fuck yourselves silly."

The youkai from Oshu Tono, as well as the group from Kuoh glanced at one another until Itaku made the call. "...You brought this upon yourselves." he coldy said as he brandished his sickles.

"Heh! Says the invaders. Is this your home you barged in? No? Then shut your mouth, hypocrite, and get this fucking over with." Kyokai snided at Itaku.

Itaku did not say anything as he simply raised his sickle over the spider's head, before he swung down.

"PLEASE STOP!"

However, Itaku paused in mid-swing at the shout and everyone turned to see Asia standing- shielding the rounded prisoners. "Please, just… stop!" the former nun tearfully pleaded, her frame was trembling.

Itaku looked skeptically at Asia, but he complied nonetheless as the latter walked closer to approach the spiders.

Then, much to everyone's surprises, Asia kneeled down next to Roka - whom she particularly recalled having his head crashed into a rock, and she applied her Twilight Healing at the masked spider.

Itaku only narrowed his eyes at the action. "Hey… What do you think you're doing?" he asked with cold tone. "Did you forget that they're our enemies?"

In Oshu Tono's line of work as mercenary clan, they had no time for granting mercy to their enemies. If you had time to feel sorry for your enemies, you might as well be using it to fight for victory, as well as for the sake of your comrades, fallen and alive alike.

"Yes, but they can't fight anymore." Asia replied as she paused to return Itaku's cold look with her resolute one... "...There is no need for any further violence."

"Okay, you listen here…" Itaku took a step forward towards Asia. However, as soon as he made the first step, Itaku suddenly his path was obstructed by Irina and Koneko, who starred vehemently at him while shielding Asia.

The act caused Itaku's friends from Tono, as well as the rest of Kuoh group, to tense up, even Asia started to look worry for her friends. Each of them was ready to fight again to defend their respective comrades.

However, Itaku quickly held his hand up - signaling his own comrades to stay down, when the kamaitachi realised that the reincarnated angel and devil were not raising their arms whatsoever.

Irina and Koneko only starred at Itaku for another moment before the former glanced and nodded at Asia, who took it as her cue to continue her job.

Itaku only narrowed his eyes at Asia, then at Irina and Koneko who were remained on their position in front of him. Itaku still could not accept the sight before him and wanted to do something, but he knew better than firing the first shot when dealing with allies/colleagues.

As if knowing Itaku's dilemma by looks alone, Irina's expression softened up as she gave a somewhat apologetic smile. "Sorry about this, but that's just Asia for you."

"Yes, so please suck it up for now." Koneko put her own two-cents while maintaining her stony face.

Itaku only glared at his supposedly allies for few more moments before he finally sighed in resignation, opting to see how things would play out for now.

On the other hand, the spiders were… _stunned_ , at Asia's action. The masked spider, whose head injury was healed by the girl's Sacred Gear, was the one who received the biggest impact.

"You…. are unbearably naive." Zet gave her remarks. However, Asia did not bother to reply, as she had heard that kind of remark from quite a few people in her life - enough that she was used to it.

"What she said." Kyokai added. "...Look, you might have your heart in right places, but we don't need your pity."

This time, Asia kind of looked perplexed at Kyoka's remarks. However, ...

"Hell yeah, we do!" Bou quickly retorted. "In fact, I'd love to have her taking good care of me now... Bow chicka bow wow."

The silence following was rather deafening. At this point, everyone gave Bou scathing looks. "...Really, even now?" Kyokai dryly commented.

"Hey, we're probably gonna die anyway, so why not go out with a climax? Bow chicka bow wow." Bou shot back with another catchphrase of his, much to his friends' annoyance.

"Then, um, please wait a little longer…" Asia replied to Bou's words, oblivious to any innuendos behind his words. "Once I'm done with this gentleman, I'll tend to you as soon as I can."

Everyone (perhaps safe for those from Kuoh) was baffled at the display of innocence. "...Is it weird that I suddenly feel bad?" Bou asked as he kept his eyes at Asia's smile.

"...It's even weirder that you have a capacity to feel bad in the first place." Kyokai replied, while also starring incredulously at the maiden.

After she was done with Roka, Asia then proceeded to heal Bou next - whom did not say anything as Asia worked on his wounds. Then, she kept working on her healing until Zet and Kyokai were healed from their injuries.

"There, all done…" Asia said with a sigh, while swiping her hand over her sweating forehead. "You should be fine for now. Are there anymore injuries?" she asked with a bright smile.

"...Will you be my friend?" Roka asked as his masked faced eyed Asia with reverie.

The blonde bishop only blinked and looked back at Roka for a second, before she flashed another genuine, radiant smile. "Sure, I'd love to!"

"Yaaay!" Roka cheered in a childish tone, his tight-bounded frame was shaking with excitement.

Itaku and the other youkai blinked, while the Kuoh party only smiled and shook their heads in amusement.

"I can't wait to take you to meet our friends!" However, Roka was deflated all of sudden. "...Oh, right. Mr. Poodles is still gone… I really miss him."

Kyoka, Zet and Bou only rolled their eyes at Roka's depressed state. All of them knew that 'Mr. Poodles' did not actually exist. It was actually Roka's self-made plushie, acting as his surrogate best friend in order for him to cope up with bloody days on battlefield.

...And as a convenient means of stoking Roka's angry side, Kyoka and Zet agreed to hide 'Mr. Poodles', at least until their job was over.

"I'm… I'm so sorry." The spiders were snapped out of their reverie when they saw Asia's sad expression, the girl's hand was on Roka's lap, moving in comforting manner. "I…. probably can help you find him. Was Mr. Poodles a part of the battle? If so perhaps I can remember his features, I healed quite a number of your other friends as well." she said in reassuring tone.

The Spiders only starred dumbly at Asia's sincerity before Bou turned his head at his captors. "...Is this girl for real?"

Irina and Koneko, who happened to stand closest to Bou, only shrugged with a knowing smile in return.

Eventually, Zet sighed in defeat. "...Well, I don't really care of what happens to whom anymore, so I'll give you guys a heads-up."

The female spider's statement caught everyone's attention. Once the spiders confirmed that everyone was all ears, Kyokai took the initiative and began to talk. "We've been hired by the Shikoku as their additional fighting force to take and rule over the Eastern youkai, and…. Simply put, our elders accepted."

"...You accepted the request to aid rebels…. To prevent your other fellow youkai to achieve peace?" Irina asked carefully.

"Girl… We, the spiders, are warriors, hunters - mercenaries." Zet retorted. "We don't know any other way to live aside from killing and hunting…. At least that's what our leaders believe."

"Honestly, I don't really care if the youkai would be allied with other pantheons and shit like that." This time, it was Bou who put his two-cents. "But the elders…. Have been quite depressed from the lack of fight and all. I gotta say, they're bat-shit crazy."

"Yeah, I have no idea what they are planning at all." Roka joined in.

"Roka, you barely have any idea of anything at all." Bou retorted.

"ANYWAY…" Zet interjected. "Truthfully speaking, our numbers had been declining due to our low birth-rate, as well as the lack of hunt prevents us to prosper…. Thus, the elders decided to perform a ritual to ensure the success of this coup."

"...What kind of ritual?" Itaku asked with intrigued, yet somewhat grim look.

"...Resurrection. Or, perhaps it's more like they're trying to release something that had been sealed centuries ago."

"And that 'something' is…?" This time, it was Amezo who voiced everyone's curiosity.

"Honestly? We don't know either." Kyokai replied, but before anyone could have said anything more in return, he quickly continued. "However, we've been hearing stories, it's just the name of this creature had been obscured and as good as forgotten through the course of history."

"Famous spider youkai whose name is forgotten…?" Awashima said with skeptical tone.

"Yeah, it's weird, but I heard that this guy was some kind of a badass, the baddest of them." Bou replied. "The first thing we were told about him was that he's an evil spirit that one must never encounter."

Everyone blinked at the first information - _Evil spirit that one must never encounter?_

Zet and Kyokai then proceeded to tell what they knew regarding the tale.

 _Gods and spirits alike must avoid him at all costs._

 _Once you see him, you can only stop and await your death._

 _One of the strongest, if not_ the _strongest, youkai has rampaged through the heart of Kansai since the time of immemorial._

 _He cannot be controlled, he cannot be defeated._

 _If it so happens that his stomach is empty… Avoid him at all costs, for he will devour gods and demons alike._

As soon as the tale ended, the area fell into dead silence, as fear and wariness began to seep into everyone's being.

"...And there you have it." Zet finished. "The ritual had begun a while ago. I believe it would be complete by the time you reach the heart of our territory. So, if you truly value your lives, as well as your comrades, I suggest you leave and warn the outside world of what's to come. Your numbers had been depleted from our previous debacle, you guys don't stand a chance as of now."

"You know this far about the danger whatever this might be…" Irina started with grave tone. "...and you lot decided to let it happen?"

"We are soldiers, little girl. We are merely pawns and pieces on the board. Our jobs are to fulfill our orders." Zet calmly replied. "...And I told you, we spiders only know how to live through hunting and killing."

"That's… That's not right!" Asia spoke up, drawing back everyone's attention to her. "You might be youkai… But I believe you are person as well! There must be other way to live than what those elders deemed you to be!"

The spiders only starred speechless at Asia's sincere expression. The youkai shared each other looks for a second before they looked down in thought. Truthfully, it was the first time someone saw them as individuals, instead of some expendable soldiers on battlefield; and the feeling they had when the blonde girl said those words…. Were completely foreign, albeit not in a bad way.

"...Heh, whatever." Kyokai finally said. "In that case, this might be our last time making mistakes. Just leave us here, do whatever you guys gotta do."

Everyone went silent at the spider's words, however….

"...Then we will make sure that all of you won't die." Everyone turned to see Ouryuu speaking. "Like you people, we also have our own job. I don't know much about the specifics, but our superiors would not mind welcoming you into the Alliance. Your lives will be guaranteed." Ouryuu looked around at his comrades from Kuoh, who all nodded in agreement.

Zet, Kyouka, Bou, Roka and the rest of the spiders only starred at Ouryuu for few moments before Zet asked. "...Why all this…. Like going so far for us?"

"...Will you accept if I say that I - we simply want to?" Ouryuu said with small smile, while his mind went to the image of a certain young man with red draconic gauntlet on his left arm.

Few moments of silence later, Kyokai sighed in defeat. "...Suit yourselves."

The expression of Ouryuu, as well as the members of Gremory family brightened up. They turned to look at the youkai from Tono, whom only sighed as a sign of acceptance. "Well, they gave us intel in the end, so there's no need to do anything to them." Awashima said, sheathing her sword.

"...For the record, we don't care if they will live or die, as long as we got our own job done." Itaku gave one last look before he went off toward the intended destination.

It took only few minutes for everyone to join as well, leaving few numbers of youkai behind to take care of the prisoners and the wounded.

* * *

The alliance group continued their trek towards the heart of enemy territory. As they went further and further into the woods, the tension kept building up.

Everyone could feel the oppressive atmosphere, and ominous aura that only thickened at every step they took forward; noises and sounds of demented chants and prayers could be vaguely heard from the depths of the forest.

Despite all of those, however, they all remained strong as they pushed through the foliage and arrived at the ritual site, with screens and torches set up around a clearing.

In the middle of the clearing, there was a massive magic ritual with a large tombstone with glowing red carvings, standing in the middle. Surrounding it was a group of people covered in robes, the cloth white and embroidered with bones from different creatures.

However, upon closer look, one could notice that there were some…. Inhuman features poking out from the hem of their clothes.

When the cultists noticed the Alliance's arrival, the leader - judging from his more 'ornate' robe, being silken red and his cloth decorated with jewel-embedded gold plate, which made him stood out more compared to others; turned to address his invaders.

"So, the softies have finally come to our headquarters! Did you all really think you all can waltz in here and be done with it, like stumbling onto a corpse drained of its juices before you can even sink your teeth into? I think not, you fleshbags!"

Ignoring the cultist-leader's words, Ouryuu was the first to reply. "Whatever you are trying to pull here, stop it now and surrender, or we will apprehend you with extreme prejudice! This is your one and only warning!"

However, as soon as Ouryuu gave his warning, something happened. The ritual ground suddenly glowed before the earth began to shake. The area beneath the tomb-stone began to move upwards, as if something was about to burst out from underground.

"Heheheh, I guess you are all too late…." The cultist-leader cackled. "...Trying to apprehend these, dirt-bags!"

BOOM!

The earth erupted into an explosion that sent a shockwave that caused dust and debris to fly around, obscuring everyone's visions. However, as the dust slowly settled, the entire group suddenly sensed a massive, oppressive presence enveloping the whole area. They even felt difficult to remain standing, as beads of sweat started to pour. However, they found themselves frozen when they saw what appeared before them.

A towering imposing figure emerged from the smoke, its shadow covered all standing before it. The sun gleaming from atop its head, casting a shadow that darkened its face.

Its aura, on the other hand, was another matter; the sheer intensity of its presence magnified its already large body tenfold. Sinister golden lights flickered, its eyes glowing in golden radiance as it darted to its smaller challengers before it. The golden lights flickered, scanning its prey with predatory hunger... only for it to dim as the eyes narrowed.

The massive creature looked around for a second before it breathed out a steam from its mouth. Now that everyone's vision became clearer the allied group could see what they were facing - it was a monstrous figure with multiple arms, towering over youkai, angels and devils alike. It possessed four muscular arms and stood on two legs, and was clad in an outfit that resembled a ruffian. Its face apparently had an appearance of a gruesome horned mask.

While everyone generally, more or less was exercising caution, but something else was gnawing away at their minds.

The youkai of Oshu Tono had fought their fair shares of powerful foes - they might belong to a newer, younger generations; but despite their confidence in their skills, they could not help but think that the adversary before them might be their greatest challenge as of yet.

Ouryuu balled his fists _tightly_. It was his first time of going outside of his family territory and yet he had encounter an opponent that he believed to be way out of his league. But nonetheless, he refused to back down from this battle, for many things were at stake. Otherwise he would not be able to face the Red Dragon Emperor.

Rossweisse swallowed a lump as she prepared her strongest spells. When she was faced with the gigantic creature… she could not help but think that the presence the creature was exuding, reminded her of Issei and Saitama. This was going to be one of the hardest fights of her life, if she were able to survive.

Asia clutched her hands tightly in prayer, her eyes were glued at the giant visage and her body was frozen in fear. At times like this, she wished that Issei was right beside her. Even Rassei, who was ever vigilant on top of her head, was hissing like mad.

Irina was barely faring any better, as she grabbed her sword of light for dear life. She wanted to run away, but she could not move. Was it because her friends' lives were on the line, or was it she was too scared to even run? She decided not to answer and stood her ground in the end.

When Kuroka and Koneko had their eyes set upon the monster before them, they could not help but think… _that they just wanted to run back home and threw herself into their mother's embrace_.

"Hn…." the creature hummed, showing a sign of sentience. "It's been way too long since I fell asleep…..."

When the creature said the last line, his golden eyes fell upon Tono Youkai and Kuoh group. That was when everyone realized the gnawing feeling - _fear_.

"…. And who the hell are you lot supposed to be?"

The real fight had just begun.

* * *

 **I have to say, writing this was quite tedious. However, I still saw this through.**

 **So, as you have seen, I put Suzaku Himejima and Ouryuu Nakiri into the equation. Kudos for those who can tell the Easter Eggs, as well as references. Let me know if I do their characters enough justice.**

 **The Night Parade arc will end in one or two more chapters, as we will see how Kuroka's (and possibly Koneko as well) character will develop in One-Punch DxD.**

 **Until then, no flame reviews please! Unless if they are actually constructive. Ahsoei, over and out.**


End file.
